For the first time since independence Kenya will not be represented at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). A statement from State House Nairobi Friday evening said Kenya’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Machariah Kamau, had informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that Kenya would not be at the High Level Week of the Sixty Eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The statement cited that President Kenyatta could not be out of the country at the same time as the Deputy President William Ruto. The DP is in the Netherlands attending the hearings of a case facing him at the International Criminal Court ( ICC).
A week before the start of Ruto’s case the president had indicated that it would not be possible for both of them to be outside the country at the same time. At thet time the ICC had issued a prelimilary schedule that showed both Kenyatta and Ruto would have been in The Hague at the same time.
The Statehouse statement has also added that both the president and his deputy have so far cooperated fully with the International Criminal Court.
“The Deputy President presented himself to the Hague court of his own free will and has submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the court. Kenya expects theICC to show the same level of cooperation thus demonstrated with a state party.”
According to the statement, Kenya informed the UN Secretary-General that the political space for continuous cooperation was rapidly being eroded and the country was weary that the dire consequences of these developments seemed to be lost on the ICC interlocutors.
Kenyatta was scheduled to attend the High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly from 23rd to 27th September 2013.-standardmedia.co.ke
The President has also summoned the Kenyan Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UNMacharia Kamau, back to Nairobi for consultation.
