Kenya MPs vote to withdraw from ICC

Kenyan MPs have approved a motion to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) following an emergency debate

 Kenya's parliament is dominated by the Jubilee coalition formed by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto

A bill to this effect is expected to be introduced in the next 30 days, after opposition MPs boycotted the vote

 MPs from the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord), led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, walked out of the debate, calling the motion "capricious" and "ill-considered".

The ICC has charged President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto with crimes against humanity, which they both deny

ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah told  that Kenya's withdrawal would have no bearing on the cases against the two men.


About International Criminal Court (ICC)

• Set up in 2002
• Based in The Hague, the Netherlands
• Deals with genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression
• Court has been ratified by 121 countries, including 34 in Africa
• Chief Prosecutor is Fatou Bensouda, from The Gambia
• Democratic Republic of Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga is the only person convicted so far
• Investigating cases in Uganda, DR Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Kenya, Libya, Ivory Coast and Mali