A Human Rights Defender's Perspective

I n regional news, The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) can now handle crimes of international proportion such as genocide, crimes against humanity, terrorism and war crimes following endorsement by East African Community Heads of State. The extension of the Court's mandate was made during the EAC Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, last week, that was held under the theme, " Deepening and accelerating integration: Towards Political Federation ." The EACJ is the judicial body of the East African Community (EAC). The Court has jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of the East African Treaty of 1999. The Court   does not have competence to hear individual complaints of alleged violations of human rights law.   The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community sets out in  Article 27 that, “The Court shall have such other original, appellate,  human rights  and other jurisdiction as will be determined by the Council at...

The ICC has been on a back foot lately. Accusations of bias hammered at every forum attended by African leaders on the continent and abroad, and writings and opinion pieces by African and other international scholars have been a la mode ! Lecture halls and public rallies’ podiums in Kenya and other parts of the continent have been reduced to a castigation of the ICC as neo-colonial and overtly biased. The discussions and counter discussions which are unlikely to end soon have been tied in with the general declared war against afro-pessimism and a call for African renaissance that has taken center stage giving it a fair share of talk time. This coupled with the apparent fumbling characterized by the manner in which the Court has handled its cases lately most notably the Kenyan Cases – the seemingly unprofessional gathering of evidence, claims of witness coaching and intimidation among other things has greatly muddied the Court’s image even at its most genuine self. These ...