The West, the ICC, and ‘mtu wetu’ in Israel

The apprehension warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), person brought backmost not-so-fond memories to galore Kenyans. More than a decennary ago, past Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his lawman – existent President William Ruto – became the archetypal incumbent heads of authorities oregon authorities to really look an ICC trial, having been indicted earlier they got into office.

However, portion some Kenyatta and Ruto chose to cooperate with the tribunal – astatine slightest connected the look of it – and attended their trials, frankincense obviating the request for an apprehension warrant, it is improbable that Netanyahu and Gallant volition beryllium taking a travel to The Hague immoderate clip soon.

Kenyatta and Ruto were accused of being liable for the unit that followed the country’s disputed 2007 election, successful which much than 1,300 radical mislaid their lives. The 2 had been connected opposing sides of the struggle and were alleged to person organised and funded “tribal” militia to transportation retired killings.

To date, lone a fistful of radical person ever been prosecuted for the murders, rapes and mutilation that led to the forcible displacement of 660,000 people, and it was lone aft the Kenyan authorities proved unwilling to enactment that the ICC stepped in.

Similarly, erstwhile helium applied for warrants for the Israeli leaders successful May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan – who coincidentally headed Ruto’s defence squad – besides indicated helium would beryllium blessed to defer prosecution if Israel’s justness strategy shows immoderate willingness to instrumentality enactment against Netanyahu and Gallant and “engage successful autarkic and impartial judicial processes that bash not shield suspects and are not a sham”.

The ICC judges person present agreed that determination are tenable grounds to judge the 2 carnivore transgression work for the galore crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians during its ongoing genocidal battle connected Gaza. With an authoritative decease toll of much than 44,000, Gaza has witnessed murders, rapes and displacement connected a immense scale, arsenic good arsenic wide starvation, and the deliberate targeting of schools, hospitals and places of worship.

Many person complained astir the seven-month-long hold successful the ICC judges issuing the apprehension warrants, but Kenyans had to hold for 2 years to person the ICC authoritative nonstop a petition for an probe and past different 5 months for the tribunal to o.k. it. It past took different 12 months for the existent indictment of circumstantial individuals – six of them – to beryllium handed down.

Thus, by comparison, the Palestine cases person moved overmuch faster.

Among the reasons for the hold successful the Palestine lawsuit were the galore briefs challenging the court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the allegations. There was besides a batch of unit enactment connected the ICC by Israel and its Western friends.

There were Israeli attempts to intimidate the tribunal adjacent earlier the warfare started past year, with Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, facing threats by the Mossad not to motorboat an probe into Israel’s warfare crimes of 2021. Khan present himself faces accusations of intersexual misconduct.

It is notable that fewer Western nations came to Kenyatta’s and Ruto’s aid. On the contrary, determination was much than a subtle hint fixed to Kenyans that electing Kenyatta and Ruto would beryllium a atrocious thought – that “choices person consequences”.

I americium not saying they should person opposed the duo’s arraignment, but determination is much than a whiff of treble standards here. It does look that determination is much of an involvement successful seeing justness done erstwhile those successful the dock are Africans, and not conscionable anti-Western.

That constituent is driven location erstwhile 1 considers however the indictments of Israeli officials person been framed successful the Western press. The Guardian, for example, described it arsenic “the archetypal clip a occidental state from a modern ideology has been charged with warfare crimes and crimes against humanity by a planetary judicial body”.

This relationship comes arsenic a astonishment to Kenya, which for good implicit six decades has considered itself a “Western ally” and which – having held regular elections passim that clip – tin beryllium described arsenic thing of a “modern democracy”, immoderate that means. Unless, of course, these are euphemistic descriptors of much problematic relationships.

Kenyans person a sanction for this benignant of thing: the “mtu wetu [our guy] syndrome”. Whenever our politicians find themselves being investigated oregon – God forbid! – charged with crimes, they effort to rally their taste kinsmen astir the thought that it is the “tribe” being targeted.

The mobilisation of an imagined identity is simply a governmental maneuver that is precise effectual successful scaring disconnected prosecutors and intimidating judges some locally and internationally. “Mtu wetu” is however Kenyatta and Ruto were capable to debar prosecution astatine location and past instrumentalise their power of the Kenyan authorities to undermine their cases astatine the ICC.

It is wherefore the ICC recovered itself accused of “race hunting” – of focusing connected prosecuting Black Africans, an allegation that conveniently ignored the information that astir of the situations the tribunal was pursuing had been referred to it by African governments.

“Mtu wetu” is wherefore Netanyahu contiguous accuses the tribunal of anti-Semitism, suggesting his prosecution is an onslaught connected each Jews. “Mtu wetu” is wherefore abruptly Germany seems little keen connected upholding its obligations nether planetary law, and wherefore US politicians are threatening each and sundry, adjacent those successful Canada and Europe who possibly mistakenly thought they  would beryllium ever portion of the tribe.

It is sadly ironic that connected the 140th day of the Berlin West Africa Conference – which acceptable the signifier for European colonisation of Africa and which subsequently introduced the scourge of tribalism to the continent – that the aforesaid irrational and totalising conception of individuality is being weaponised successful the West to support radical accused of immoderate of the worst categories of crimes imaginable.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.