Kofi Annan has urged Kenyans not to vote for politicians facing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in next year’s election.
Reportby BBC Online
Annan, former UN secretary-general and now African Union envoy overseeing the election, said Kenya’s external relations could be damaged.
Candidates Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are due to stand trial after the vote in March next year.
Correspondents say the intervention is likely to infuriate them.
Although he did not name Deputy Prime Minister Kenyatta and former minister Ruto, Annan said any Kenyan leader must be able to travel to meet other heads of state and be trusted by the international community.
“When you elect a leader who cannot do that, who will not be free or will not be easily received, it is not in the interests of the country and I’m sure the population will understand that,” he said.
Both Kenyatta and Ruto have been indicted by the ICC over deadly post-election violence in 2007.
Many governments have said they simply will not deal directly with politicians who are under indictment at the ICC.
Annan’s comments are likely to infuriate the two, but it is not clear how much they will affect voters on polling day.
Although Annan is a respected figure, many Kenyans still vote along community lines.
The two candidates in question — formerly bitter political rivals — have announced that they are forming an alliance for next year’s election.
At a rally in western Kenya, they said Kenyatta would be the presidential candidate and Ruto his running mate.
They were on opposite sides in the last election in 2007, but the ICC has indicted both men in relation to the violence that followed the poll.
Some 1 200 people were killed and 300 000 forced from their homes in the clashes that followed the disputed election.
Kenyatta and Ruto both deny any involvement in the violence.
Anaan uya wozorasika zvino. ZvekuKenya zvineyi naye!
The ICC is a traversity to justice,How can we as africans expect justice from westerners who not only enslaved us but colonised us,after that they pereptrated gross human rights violations against us through such things as arpatheid.It is no secret that these same western powers sponsored and continue to sponsor terrorists and insurgents causing instabillity in africa so they can symphone out africa’s natural resources,yet they got away with it, no ICC no hague no nothing.This whole icc bullshit is an excuse to exercise control over africans,it is an insult to suggest that africans cannot carryout justice on their own,charles taylor are there no competent liberians to mete out justice among each other.All african gvts who are signatories to this shit are puppets and are bootlicking the west for crumbs.its high time africans solved issues to do with africa rather than refer them to the west.shame!
Apart from what you say about ICC,why do African elections have so much violence and murders?Is it the westerners and ICC who come to our lands to make violence?Who is the voice of the defenceless general populace that wants peaceful elections?Its only politicians who hate ICC because they know they will be policed.Imagine a state that unleashes violence on its people and gets away with it because it is a sovereign state.In the west,an election is held without one person being slapped.Why do we have to kill in order to get into power?Why,why,why?
We must separate the two issues here. Western colonialism of the past and present day savagery on one’s fellowmen. Western colonialism was horrible. Those responsible must be put to book sooner or later. If they are not living then their descendants who benefited directly through existing century old organisations like the Dutch-East India Company and British South Africa Company. Present day despots who perpetrate violence and mass murder to their own people must also be brought to book whether they are African or European or Asian. The world deserves a new order.
IF COLONIALISM WAS EVIL WHAT ABOUT SOME AFRICAN RULERS WHO TRANSFER AND GIVE ON THEIR OWN INTEREST AFRICAN NATURAL RESOURCES.ARE THEY SAINTS IN YOUR MIND?
as an African Union envoy, Koffi Annan’s mo than qualified 2 advise the Kenyan ppl on hw best they cn choose their leaders 4 a progresive country, he hs bn on a bigger stage as the sec gen of UN n he knws pretty wel wat happens if Kenyans vote 4 those indicted. over n above ths’ the same Kenya dat’s wholly funded by the west. its their choice afta al 2 choose the 2 n b doomed as a country or vote wiser n b progresive