During this year’s
African Union (AU) summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, under the
tutelage of the now president of the continental top body, Zimbabwean Robert
Mugabe, the key issue on the table was the formation and expansion in mandate
of The African Court of Justice. This, according to them is a viable and a
better option to International Criminal Court (ICC)! This clarion call at the
AU summit was a follow-up from last year’s Malabo Protocol that was adopted in
Equatorial Guinea. The idea of establishing an African Court with expanded
mandate to prosecute crimes against humanity, instead of The ICC, simply reeks
of greed and selfish narrow interests by our presidents! To most of our
presidents for life, dictators and co, who are championing this greedy cause,
the ICC is an imperialistic tool that the West uses to butcher the African sovereignty
and let its dogs after African presidents!
Kenya has
pledged a whooping Ksh92 million to this ‘noble’ African cause! Never forget
that there is no money to increase the salaries of our teachers and also
improve our health and education facilities! The so-called Malabo protocol is
simply a ploy by cronies to protect their own! In this continent, we have presidents
for life, others have rose to power and sustained themselves their on the blood
of fellow Africans! We kill, maim, rape and heartlessly displace fellow
Africans in the greedy pursuit for power and also the rich minerals of this
continent! Look at the blood Diamonds of Sierra Leone in the past, Lord’s Resistant
Army in Uganda and how power has exchanged hands in independent Uganda, Boko
Haram in Nigeria, the vicious fight for years-end on in Democratic Republic of
Congo, the chaos in Somalia since 1994, the civil strife and wars in Central
African Republic and the Kenyan post-election quagmire of 2007-2008. Should we
sit back, close this sad chapter of events and say that the souls of our
innocent brothers and sisters should go in vain? Should we pretend that they do
not deserve justice even in death? Should we deny justice to the families,
friends and relatives that they left behind? Should those who have survived
with the permanent scars both physically and psychologically live in fear,
hopelessness and pain and see no justice?
Most of the
presidents in Africa, especially those with blood on their hands suffer from
the African paranoia and that they must always protect themselves from the
wheels of justice! They sit on ills and atrocities committed under their watch
in their countries and The ICC is their greatest threat; the perpetual ghost
that hangs precariously so close for their comfort! Severing ranks with The
Hague-based ICC, presents them with the best chance to evade accountability for
these mass crimes against humanity and so, it is a cause that they will give
their all to ensure it comes to fruition!
So many crimes
have been committed on this continent. Mass rapes, killings and displacement,
coup d’etats, civil wars and strife, corruption and other ills are so prevalent
in most of the African countries. Yet, the culprits have not been brought to
book for all these, most of them are walking scot free and perpetrating more of
these.
How can the
Mugabe’s, el-Bashirs, Museveni’s and Nguemo’s of this land lead us into
darkness? It is unpalatable! The African Court of Justice is simply the way
through which our African leaders will ensure that they never answer for the
atrocities and crimes that they abet and commission on the sons of this great continent!
It must be resisted by all those who care about Africa!
Ours is the continent
of two Africans; the ruling cronies and the ruled. The crimes by the former
inflict pain and affect the latter, but not the former! Since independence on
our African soil, democracy has remained elusive in most countries and even sad
is the fact that most of the presidents have blatantly refused to be
accountable to their people and they abhor justice! Instead of working for the
greater good of the continent, our leaders in the AU have once again teamed up
to protect their interests!
