AU Appeals to Kenya and the Sudan to Preserve and Promote their Relations

By Staff Writer

ADDIS ABABA— The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU) Dr. Jean Ping, is closely monitoring the developments in the relations between the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of Kenya, following a judicial decision in Kenya regarding the situation in Darfur, on which Africa has adopted a fair, correct and lucid decision on the need to articulate, in a balanced manner, the promotion of peace and the quest for justice.

The diplomatic row comes in the wake of a planned Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting to be hosted in Kenya in which Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir is expected to participate.

The judgment by High Court Judge Nicholas Ombija has triggered one of the biggest diplomatic spats in the country’s history with Sudan threatening a series of sanctions in protest.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir escalated the standoff between his country and Kenya on Friday night when he gave Nairobi a two-week ultimatum to overturn a High Court order for his arrest.

In a terse statement, President al-Bashir said his country would slap a broad array of sanctions against Kenya, including banning flights by any airline originating from or destined to Kenya, from overflying its airspace.

Rescuing the disintegrating relationship, President Mwai Kibaki Thursday sent an envoy which included Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula to Sudan for talks with President Bashir on Kenya’s position on the arrest warrant. He said the government was committed to ensuring that the ruling would not hurt relations between the two states.

Mr Wetangula said the government will appeal a court ruling that directed the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.

He added that Attorney General Githu Muigai will be requested to seek a reversal of Justice Ombija’s November 28 move to issue an arrest warrant for President Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

Within this context, the Chairperson of the Commission commends the timely and appropriate statement made by the Executive Secretary of IGAD, and fully associates the AU Commission with this position as an expression of the attitude of all the countries concerned about this development. There is no doubt that IGAD and its Member States and, indeed, all the entire membership of the AU will continue to comply scrupulously with the African common position on the respect of the immunity of the President of the Republic of the Sudan, Mr. Omar Hassan Al Bashir, as well as that of all the other incumbent African Heads of State.

The Chairperson of the Commission notes with appreciation that the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of the Sudan are acting diligently and with good will to preserve their brotherly relations. He encourages Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Omar Hassan Al Bashir and their Governments to leave no stone unturned to clear any misunderstanding and defuse tension between their two countries. He stresses the crucial importance of building trust between the two countries, so as to foster cooperation and create the conditions that will enable the region as a whole to successfully meet the challenges of peace and development.