SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY
HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.,PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES
OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE SPECIAL SITTING OF PARLIAMENT,
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, NAIROBI, 6th OCTOBER, 2014
The Speaker of the National Assembly,
The Speaker of the Senate,
Honorable Members of both Houses of Parliament,
Fellow Kenyans,
Article 132 of the constitution provides for the President of the republic of Kenya to address a special sitting
of Parliament at any one time. Under the first article of the constitution,
“all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya”
In this respect, I am here to address you as representatives of the people on an important national matter regarding our sovereignty.
Last Tuesday, as I touched down at Jomo Kenyatta international Airport on my return from the E9th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, i received notice
to attend a status conference at The Hague
Since then, the notice and its implied consequences for our sovereignty have raised confusion and anxiety.
These concerns extend to our immediate region, and other friends
of Kenya.
My Fellow Kenyans,
This is not
a time for anxiety. It is a time to be proud of the democracy we have built, and the law-abiding country we have become. it is also a time to deliberate together,
as members of the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, and indeed as
citizens, on how to collectively realize the great destiny that beckons.
Nurturing a young democracy in a treacherous world of despotism, terrorism
and extremism was never going to be easy. Neither was the building of a strong and diverse
economy that could realize the dreams
of more than forty million Kenyans, and anchor a prosperous region.
Indeed, our quest for greater development demands a clearer picture of
the true state of our economy. While we have much further to go, our nation reached a significant milestone
last week. We officially became a middle-income country, and
took our rightful place as one of the ten
largest economies in Africa. This milestone, among many others we have achieved over the past fifty years, reminds us that we are travelling in the right direction.
It should be celebrated, for it gives us the fortitude to sustain our
development efforts.
In New York, i addressed the United Nations General Assembly and
Security Council, giving a full account of our role in regional peace and security, our stand on the front lines of
building robust democracies, of fighting global terrorism, of dealing
with the threat of climate change, and of
building strong institutions that can weather crises such as Ebola in
parts of West Africa.
I saw at the General Assembly the high esteem in which Kenya is held across the world, for its leadership in
matters of development, in the struggle for global
peace and security, as a safe haven for millions of refugees from neighbouring
countries, and as a stable hub for regional trade
and investment.
The world
sees and applauds, as we do, our young men and women in uniform, who, under my command, are bravely fighting Al-Shabaab.s
terrorists at home and abroad. Our diplomats are crucial actors in a troubled
region, working to end the conflicts, and fill the vacuums in governance, that allow such terrorist groups room to operate.
The world
knows that as a democracy on the frontier against terrorism, our people have been brutally murdered by the same terrorist
networks that have sparked mayhem worldwide.
We face
these trials with fortitude, knowing that our work to banish insecurity, poverty, and division is our generation.s
historic task. It is how our children.s children will remember us.
By our effort and vision, new roads and railways, schools and hospitals, are being built, bringing with them jobs,
wealth and new friends from all over the
world. My Government daily improves service provision to its citizens. The world.s businesses look to our educated and industrious people as amongst the most promising to invest
their wealth in.
All these developments are anchored in the rule of law, which is a living expression of our collective will. Even at our lowest ebb, in
our darkest days, the aspiration to be bound
and protected by the law has shaped our character as a people and a
nation.
After more than two decades of consultations, and sometimes ugly confrontation, we made history. In peace time, we negotiated a new constitution
and re-organized our entire society and its governance structures. Today, we have a constitution that we are immensely proud of.
There are
few others globally that equal its protection of the rights of the individual, its balancing of executive, judicial
and legislative power, and its demand for fulsome public participation
and integrity in service.
In the last year alone, we have transitioned from a unicameral to a bicameral legislature; from a parliamentary to a presidential system of government. We have moved in unprecedented
fashion from a centralized system of government
where the winner takes all, to a devolved system, which gives power to the
people to choose their leaders, and to choose how they will be governed
at the local level. And we have established
an independent judiciary, and oversight bodies able to stand up for the
public interest.
We strive to fully realize this new constitution, even in the face
of the global threat of
terrorism whose perpetrators and agents manipulate
our expanded democratic space to radicalize and recruit their foot soldiers.
Internationally, our diplomacy has been driven by the desire for a level
playing field, on which all nations and their peoples are equal in respect of their sovereignty.
This is why Kenya played a crucial leadership role in the negotiations
that led to the creation of the ICC through the Rome Statute, as well as in mobilizing
African states to sign up to it.
Given our experience with the Court, many have since asked why we acted
with such enthusiasm. It was because we believed then, as we do now, that in an unequal world, only a common set of rules governing
international conduct could keep anarchy at bay.
My Fellow Kenyans,
After the brief but painful conflict that followed the 2007 election, communities and their leaders, at the grassroots,
undertook immense efforts at
reconciliation. Thousands of meetings were convened;
Kenyans across the country deliberated together on what had brought discord to our nation, and what we needed to do to heal.
Five years later, the Deputy President, William Ruto, and I went to every
corner of our country asking you for the honour of your vote. Our electoral ticket was forged from a national desire
for peace, reconciliation, and national cohesion.
When I took up the mantle of leadership in April 2013, I focused attention on the rehabilitation and restoration
of Kenyans affected by the 2007-8 post-election violence. My Government
resettled all the remaining registered households that were
still in camps.
This in addition
to those previously resettled under the RudiNyumbani
and integrated IDPs initiative where land
was availed for resettlement, houses
built, counselling offered, cash transfers made, and free medical
attention in government facilities provided.
That was the least we could do to relieve their suffering, and ease the resumption of their normal lives. i am committed to ensuring that Kenyans never again have to endure such tribulations.
My Fellow Kenyans,
Four years
ago, on the fifteenth day of December 2010, i watched in disbelief as i was named, with five others, as one
of those suspected of bearing the greatest
responsibility for the 2007-8 post-election violence.
This
was the beginning of my long and arduous journey to defend my name in the face
of these serious allegations. I wish to reiterate here for all that my conscience is clear, has been clear, and will remain forever clear that I am innocent of all the
accusations that have been leveled against me.
After
all this, the Prosecutor of the ICC has since last December, and as recently as
last month, admitted to the judges that “the available evidence is insufficient to prove ... alleged criminal responsibility beyond
reasonable doubt.”
This
came as no surprise, a judge at the ICC had previously found the “prosecution failed to properly investigate
the case ... in accordance with its statutory obligations.”
When the prosecutor admitted that there was insufficient
evidence against me, I expected that the matter would be dropped for
lack of evidence. Instead, the prosecutor
requested an indefinite postponement
of the case and shifted the focus to the Government of Kenya to provide
the evidence.
It was made clear that I was to be excluded from dealings
between the prosecutor and the relevant organs
of the Government of Kenya in this new focus.
Accordingly, my legal representatives were excluded from this exercise.
In
compliance with this order, I have not interfered with the protocol set by the prosecutor in her dealings with the government.
This means that in this new line being
followed, I was kept in suspense, while
the prosecutor engaged with the relevant organs of the government.
Whenever the organs of the Government of Kenya required
my consent in
relation to these investigations, I gave that consent. I have cooperated with
the prosecutor to assist in establishing the truth
at all material times.
Unfortunately, unfounded and unproven accusations are the
order of the day. My accusers, both domestic
and foreign, have painted a nefarious image
of most African leaders as embodiments of corruption and impunity. This image depends on an internalized assumption that social and political upheavals in
Africa are inherently perverse, and the result of leadership failure,
that always warrants a charge of crimes against
Humanity.
Within the Assembly of State Parties, a number of
members observed that
the Rome Statute, which is ultimately derived from the equality of states as
espoused in the U.N. Charter, is weakened by partiality.
The
Africa of Nkrumah, Nyerere, Ben Bella, Nasser, Chief Albert Luthuli, and our founding father Jomo Kenyatta,
raised concerns about the risks of undermining the sovereign equality of states. These
concerns remain valid to this day.
The
African Union, in its wisdom, resolved in October last year that “to safeguard the constitutional order, stability
and, integrity of Member States,
no charges shall be commenced or continued before any International Court or Tribunal against any serving AU Head
of State or Government or anybody acting or entitled to act in such capacity during
their term of office.”
It also resolved that my trial and that of Deputy President
William Ruto, as the current serving leaders
of the Republic of Kenya, should be suspended until we complete our terms of
office.
As the single largest constituency in the Assembly of
State Parties, and keeping in
mind the gravity of their demand, African states expected
positive consideration.
To
this end, they sent five ministers to New York City to confer with the United
Nations Security Council and seek a deferral of the Kenya situation in light of
the dire challenges to peace and security on this continent that it is my duty
to address. They were disappointed.
The
push to defend sovereignty is not unique to Kenya or Africa. Recently, the prime minister of the United Kingdom
committed to reasserting the sovereign
primacy of his parliament over the decisions of the European Human Rights
Court. He even threatened to quit the court.
I remain grateful for Africa’s support. Our century of
struggle against domination
and exploitation continues. Our independence and sovereignty deepen every passing year, as our
prosperity grows and we stand firm together.
Kenya will remain at the front of this
common cause, which is both our opportunity as a nation and our obligation as a people. I am grateful for the
support our brothers and sisters have
lent Kenya. We stand with them as we look to our immensely promising
future.
My Fellow Kenyans,
My Government has begun the implementation of our
constitution with great favour
and enthusiasm. We have focused on locating young Kenyans at the heart of economic growth as no
other administration has done in our
history, and indeed the fight against terror and insecurity remains high on our
national agenda.
It
should be clear, therefore, that this government has enough on its hands fighting poverty, securing the peace and
building regional integration to be
focused on any other matter. It is a government founded on the rule of
law, with a profound conviction that justice is our shield and defender.
Mr. Speaker,
Fellow Kenyans,
I
am deeply optimistic about the future of Kenya. We will succeed by putting the
nation’s interests first and foremost. It is for this reason that I choose not to put the sovereignty of more
than forty million Kenyans on trial, since their democratic will should
never be subject to another jurisdiction.
Therefore,
let it not be said that I am attending the Status conference as the President
of the Republic of Kenya. Nothing in my position or my deeds as President
warrants my being in court.
So, to all those who are concerned that my personal attendance
of the Status Conference compromises the sovereignty of our people, or sets a precedent for the attendance
of presidents before the court -be reassured, this is not the
case.
To
protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya, I now take the extraordinary and unprecedented step of invoking
Article 147(3) of the Constitution. I will shortly issue the legal
instrument necessary to appoint Hon.
William Ruto, the Deputy President, as Acting President while I attend the status conference at The Hague, in the Netherlands.
Finally, I urge my fellow citizens to accept and understand
my decision. I
also urge our African brothers and sisters to stand with Kenya, and all people of good will, and
friends of Kenya, to stand with us in
this difficult time.
Thank
you and God bless you
Source
https://www.scribd.com/doc/2x2073129/President-Uhuru-Kenyatta-s-Speech-during-the-Special-Sitting-of-Parliament-Parliament-Buildings-Nairobi 
