The Assembly of State Parties is today expected to vote on amendments that could offer President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto respite from The Hague trials.

The assembly closes on Thursday after nine days of discussions by the 122 member states in The Hague, Netherlands.

On Wednesday, the meeting approved amendments which if adopted will exempt the two leaders and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang from being physically present at the International Criminal Court.

The suspects will also be exempted from a new rule allowing the admission of pre-recorded witness statements during trial.

Attorney General Githu Muigai and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed led Kenyan lobbyists into pushing for the proposed amendments.

Britain, Greece and Guatemala proposed an amendment to article 134 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence to allow excusal from presence and the use of technology and lawyers as an alternative.

The amendment now awaits the approval of the plenary, could render a ruling by the International Criminals Court Trial Judges rendered on Tuesday worthless.

“The decision was a major triumph for Kenya and responded directly to Kenya’s argument that its Head of State and his Deputy could not be expected to spend months in The Hague,” said Prof Muigai. The AG, who addressed journalists in the sidelines of the ongoing conference, said the African Union strongly supported Kenya.

But reacting to the development last night, Human Rights Watch’s Senior Counsel for International Justice Elizabeth Evenson said the decision on whether the suspects should be present still lies on the hands of judges and it remains to be seen whether the proposed changes will make any practical difference.

“However, by seeking to enact special treatment for Kenya’s president and deputy president, it risks putting in place a two-tiered justice system and undermining the court’s legitimacy,” she warned.

Wednesday evening, the Working Group also approved a proposed caveat barring the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda from introducing recorded statements in any of the ongoing cases.

The amendments would have meant that the prosecutor could have used statements recorded by witnesses before they died.
The Kenyan delegation was confident the changes would be adopted by the plenary.

This story was first published in Thursdays edition of The Daily Nation.