Reports Leo Odera Omolo

Sudanese President Omar al Bashir curiously flew in through Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, and not the traditional Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, The Standard On Sunday can report. And Kenya closed its airspace to facilitate President Bashir’s arrival and departure in a well co-ordinated and guarded operation known only to a few, sources said.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga was kept in the dark over the surprise visit, which has kicked off an international storm in view of President Bashir’s status as a wanted man at The Hague.

Security sources indicated that Bashir had negotiated his security and received guarantees before honouring Kenya’s invitation.

The Sudanese leader, whose arrival at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park in the company of Tourism Minister Najib Balala took Kenyans by surprise, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity in the country’s Darfur region.

He attended the national ceremony to promulgate the new Constitution but skipped the luncheon hosted at State House, Nairobi, by the President.

And on Saturday, Kenya continued to be the butt of international consternation and anger, following United States President Barack Obama’s Friday statement on his disappointment and the International Criminal Court’s report to the United Nations Security Council.

“I am disappointed that Kenya hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in defiance of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide,” said Obama.

Obama reminded Kenya that it had committed itself to full cooperation with the ICC and added: “In Kenya and beyond, justice is a critical ingredient for lasting peace.”

But the Government remained defiant, declaring that Kenya would not allow “anyone to make friends and enemies” for it.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula had defended the presence of the indicted war crimes suspect and disclosed that President Kibaki had invited him for the ceremony.

Investigations by The Standard On Sunday showed that Bashir was sneaked into Kenya through Wilson Airport, easily the region’s busiest airport, which had been ordered closed for the whole day on security grounds by authorities.

The country’s airspace was also closed for four hours to secure Bashir’s safe entry and departure at Wilson Airport, sources said.

Top civil servants, Mr Francis Muthaura (Head of Public Service), Mr Thuita Mwangi (Foreign Affairs) and Mr Francis Kimemia (Internal Security), co-ordinated Bashir’s visit and ensured all other Government officials were kept in the dark, we learnt.

Initially, Muthaura had indicated at a Wednesday press briefing that Wilson Airport would be closed for two hours for security reasons.

Regional leaders

At the briefing, PS Mwangi had whispered to Muthaura that there were three regional government leaders who would be coming but that they did not want to be named.

Journalists’ efforts to prod him to disclose the high-level State guests came to no avail as he refused to divulge their identity, saying they had requested not to be named for security reasons.

There were conflicting reports about the time his plane touched down but sources indicated that his plane took off at 2.30pm.

On Saturday, the ODM wing of government called a press conference to announce that Prime Minister Raila Odinga was not consulted over the visit. The controversy surrounding Bashir’s visit stole the limelight from the historic celebrations, which ushered in the new Constitution with pomp and fanfare.

Last night, it was feared that the thorny issue could jolt the working relationship that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have enjoyed since they started campaigning for the Proposed Constitution ahead of the referendum.

The Orange Democratic Movement protested against Bashir’s presence at Friday’s promulgation of the Constitution and demanded an explanation over the circumstances of his invitation.

Cabinet ministers Anyang’ Nyong’o, James Orengo and Amason Kingi said Friday’s function was to present to the world a major achievement, but had been rained on by Bashir.

“Many party members and supporters have called us to raise concern about this unexpected presence of President Bashir on a day when we were promulgating the most democratic constitution in Africa, with a Bill of Rights that has very far-reaching human rights provisions,” added Nyong’o.

By inviting the Sudanese President, Nyong’o said, the world shifted its attention to Kenya for violating its new constitution as well as international law and treaties, particularly the International Crimes Act.

“We would like to point out to Kenyans, and the international community as a whole, that this was indeed a very unfortunate visit that could put into question the commitment of the Government to implement the Constitution of the Second Republic in letter and spirit,” said Nyong’o.

Orengo termed Bashir’s visit as a stain on the historic celebrations as well as an act of impunity on the part of Government.

“This is not a good beginning for us because we have compounded an act of impunity on a very important day,” said Orengo.

Kenyan suspects

He, however, disputed suggestions being peddled that ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo would have difficulty laying his hands on the Kenyan suspects linked to the 2008 post-election violence.

The Lands Minister said the Government had contacted Ocampo to slow down the Kenyan case to give room for a friendly environment to usher in the new Constitution and that he had agreed to it.

“Our deeds must indicate that we will protect the Constitution to match the oath that we took, including the international laws,” said Kingi.

On Friday, the ICC expressed its displeasure that the Kenyan Government did not arrest Bashir, and has reported the country to the UN Security Council.

Kenyan Members of Parliament reacted swiftly and angrily to the presence, accusing the Government of chipping away at the country’s resurgent international credibility.

As the angry MPs demanded answers from the Government, Wetangula declared that Kenya was unwilling to enforce international arrest warrants against Bashir as it would “destabilise Sudan” and its Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Also, he said that any such action would be in conflict with two African Union resolutions urging African nations not to arrest the Sudanese despot.

“All heads of state are invited by their peer and their peer is His Excellency the President,” said Wetangula as he disclosed that Kibaki had personally invited Bashir and added that “we invited our neighbours and Sudan is our neighbour.”

Ends