{{African leaders will meet in the Ethiopian capital on October 13 to take a common stand on whether to join Kenya\u2019s planned pull-out from the International Criminal Court ( ICC) over the prosecution of its leaders, officials said on Thursday.}}<\/p>\n
So far there does not seem to be much support for it, but heads of state from the 54-member African Union ( AU) may still discuss the possibility of a pull-out by the 34 African signatories to the Rome Statute that created the tribunal.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s start of the trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto for crimes against humanity \u2014 with President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s trial due in November \u2014 has fuelled a growing backlash against the Hague-based court from some African governments, which see it as a tool of Western powers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Kenyans have been criss-crossing Africa in search of support for their cause, even before their parliament voted to withdraw from the ICC,\u201d an AU official told Reuters. \u201cAn extraordinary summit will now take place to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n
A complete walk-out of signatories (to the Rome Statute) is certainly a possibility, but other requests may be made.\u201d<\/p>\n
The summit would be preceded by a meeting of African foreign ministers a day earlier, he said.<\/p>\n
Kenya\u2019s spokesman for the presidency Manoah Esipisu said the country had not canvassed for the summit, but \u201cwelcomed the opportunity by African leaders to discuss what is obviously an important matter for the continent\u201d.<\/p>\n
ICC prosecutors have accused Kenyatta and Ruto, alongside radio journalist Joshua arap Sang, of fomenting ethnic violence that killed about 1,300 people after a disputed election in December 2007.<\/p>\n
The three suspects deny the charges. Some neighbours of East Africa\u2019s biggest economy have petitioned the ICC alongside Ruto\u2019s lawyers for him to be excused from attending all ICC hearings.<\/p>\n
A diplomat at the African Union said Kenya may ask that Kenyatta and Ruto not to attend the entire trial. \u201cThere is a belief shared by the Kenyans and African states that the leaders appearing in the trials risks destabilising the country,\u201d said the diplomat who declined to be named.<\/p>\n
{{grudge against the ICC}}<\/p>\n
In May, the AU backed a request by Kenya for the trials to be referred back to Kenya, on the ground that the ICC hearings risked raising ethnic tensions and destabilising its economy.<\/p>\n
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