Kenya and the Bashir Fiasco

There has been a lot of hullabaloo about Kenya inviting Bashir to our promulgation ceremonies. My bone of contention here is whether indeed Kenya invited Bashir to the ceremonies. I can hear choruses of "Yes". However I still disagree. Lets look at the circumstances surrounding the invite and, indeed, the country Kenya.

Kenya has just undergone a major transformation in the way it is governed. Naturally we had to celebrate, and in the celebration we had to invite our neigbours and friends to celebrate with us. Kenya is bordered by Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. In addition we do have a common market agreement with Rwanda and Burundi, as well as a different agreement with the Comesa countries. To cap that we have historical ties with the United Kingdom. The United States of America, the European Union and China have been generous donors and the US of A in particular has been a rather severe critic and taskmaster. All these countries are considered our friends and neighbours, and as such in the event of a major celebration they certainly should be invited to attend.

Kenya, unlike some superpowers I will not mention, has ratified the ICC and as such is is required to arrest Bashir if he does set foot on Kenya jurisdiction. Given American behaviour in Afghanistan and Iraq I suspect that the Americans will probably see justification in Kenya raiding sudan to capture Bashir. This latter behaviour is illegal, unless the US of A does it, in which case the international media consider it a justified regime change.

Kenya invited representatives of the countries it considers our friends and neighbours. Sudan sent the president to represent it. Kenya did not invite Bashir for the ceremonies, it invited the President of the Republic of the Sudan. Bashir, as such, was not here as Bashir. He was here as the president of the Republic of the Sudan. Last time I checked the ICC had not issued an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan and Kenya, thus, is not obliged to arrest the president. Arresting Bashir would have been arresting the President of Sudan and would be not only bad manners but a major breach of protocol.

If, say, between the time the invite was issued and the promulgation date the person occupying the office of the President of Sudan had changed, that person would have come instead. If we insist that Bashir and the President of Sudan are one and the same then the ICC would have exceeded it mandate by insisting that a country be arrested. Bashir can, and should, be arrested if he travels in his capacity as Bashir, however the President of Sudan should not be arrested. During his time here Bashir was the country, and Kenya would be in breach of multiple agreements as well as protocol to arrest the President of Sudan. As a matter of fact it probably would be considered a declaration of war against the Sudan.