News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo.
The on-going diplomatic row between Nairobi and Khartoum could adversely affect the possibility of Sudan application for its entry into membership of the East African Community ahead of the Southern Sudan.
Fears persist among African diplomats in Nairobi that Sudan’s application to join the regional economic bloc might not see the light of the day when the extraordinary 19th Summit of the Heads of State of the East African Community slated to start in Bujumbura, Burundi tomorrow.
President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya is slated to assume the EAC chairmanship from its outgoing chairman President Pierre Nkurunziza who relinquishes his responsibility after two years in the helm of the top job.
The EAC summit comes in the backdrop of the seriously thawed diplomatic relations between Kenyan and Sudan over the controversial High Court Judgment delivered in Nairobi by a Kenya judge Justice Nicholas Ombija, who issued a warrant of arrest against the Sudan President Omar El Bashir who is wanted by the International Court of Criminal Justice at The Hague to answer the criminal charges of violation of human rights and murder.
The ICC claims that Al Bashir waged a campaign of murder, rape, pillage and deportation in Darfur. The Court says Sudan Armed Forces {SAF} had committed the alleged criminal offences.
THE Sudanese government has since then played down the important of the ICC warrant of arrest issued against Al Bashir a couple of years ago.
When informed of the warrant of arrest, the Sudanese President was quoted as having retorted; “Let them go and dip the indictment in a can of water and drink it. “He angrily said this following the first indictment and vowed never to surrender any Sudanese to the ICC touching off a diplomatic crisis with Western nations that urged him to surrender. Instead Al Bashir’s co-suspects were promoted and assigned new duties with one being made the Governor of South Kordofan region, the only oil rich part of Sudan where a new insurgency has emerged.
On haring about the Nairobi’s High Court decision, Khartoum reacted angrily and gave Kenya’s Ambassador to that country 72 hours to leave and t the same time recalled home its envoy to Kenya.
The Kenya government, however, remained calm and instructed the Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court against the High Court ruling.
Since the ICC warrant was issued three years ago, President Omar Al Bashir has defiantly travelled abroad and to several parts of Africa, but carefully avoided the visit to any of the Western nations, which are the lading signatories to the Rome Statue which created the ICC. He has visited the Peoples Republic of China, Ethiopia, Uganda and even he was in Nairobi last August. The majority members of the African Union, even those countries which are signatories to the Rome Statue supports Al Bashir.The AU itself at one time passed a resolution to this effect.,
But now the possibility of Sudan joins the EAC as new member still hands in balance following the ongoing diplomatic row that has erupted between Khartoum and Nairobi ahead of the bloc’s Head of State meeting in Burundi which kicks off tomorrow.
A report emerging from Bujumbura says the signs of diplomatic show down during the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday this week. Some of the Minister openly opposed Sudan’s inclusion ahead of its neighbor the Southern Sudan’s application for the same.
Among the Ministers who openly expressed their opposition to the move was Eriya Kategaya, the Ugandan Minister for the East African Community Affairs and also the Deputy Prime Minister.
He was quoted as saying, “ It would be wrong to admit a country whose political leadership is under scrutiny for the gross violation of human rights.”
“Sudan does not share border with any member of the EAC partner states. It would therefore be wrong to admit it before that of the Southern Sudan.”If you look at several issues like their democracy, the way they beat up women and their religious and politics we feel they don’t qualify.”
The seriousness of the issue was underline when President Kibaki few minutes after arrival in Bujumbura went straight into serious briefing meetings with Kenyan Minister for the East African Community Affairs Musa Sirma his counterpart the Minister for Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula and the Attorney general of Kenya Prof. Githu Muigai.
Prof Muigai and Minister Sirma were expected late this afternoon to continue briefing the Kenya n President who resume the EAC chair tomorrow. Top on the agenda of the deliberations are issues such as the question of Southern Sudan admission to the EAC.
Briefing the press last week, the Secretary-0General of the EAC Dr. Richard Sezibera disclosed that President Omar Al Bashir wrote a letter to President Pierre Nkurunziza last June apply for the admission of his country to the EAC while the Southern Sudan application came early this month. But there are all signs that most delegates favored the Southern Sudan application which is likely to sail through during discussion at the summit.
With President Kibaki assuming the chairmanship of the EAC tomorrow, the chances of Khartoum joining the bloc during this time of serious diplomatic thaw with Kenya is rather remote.
Ends