Nairobi, Kenya -- The Kenyan government Thursday defended its decision not to arrest Sudan's visiting head of state -- wanted on charges of war crimes and genocide -- saying Kenya's first obligation was to the African Union, not the International Criminal Court.
"We need African solutions to Africa's problems," said government spokesman Alfred Mutua.
The court wants Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to face a raft of charges related to the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan.
He was in Kenya on Friday to attend the signing ceremonies for Kenya's new constitution. The ICC argues that Kenya had a legal obligation to arrest him and hand him over for trial.
But Kenyan government spokesman Mutua disagreed.
"In the context of Omar al-Bashir's case, Kenya's obligation was first to the AU and then to ICC. If Sudan (is) destabilized it is us who would suffer, not the West," he said.
The African Union opposes the arrest warrants for al-Bashir, saying his arrest could destabilize Sudan.
And he accused to "the West" of "neo-colonialism".
CNN
