HOW #AL_QAEDA CHIEF #AYMAN_AL_ZAWAHIRI CALLED FOR WESTGATE ATTACK!

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called Muslims everywhere to act against the United States and its allies in order to stop their "crimes," and pledged to free Muslim detainees in Guantanamo and other prisons. His speech, titled, "46 Years After the Year of the Naksa," came in a 21 minute, 56 second video produced by as-Sahab, and was posted on jihadist forums on July 30, 2013. As-Sahab Media ProductionRajab 1434 46 Years After the Year of the Naksa [Setback]By Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, may Allah Preserve Him In the name of Allah, and praise be to Allah. Peace and prayer be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, his Companions and those who followed him. O Muslim brothers everywhere: Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. And thereafter: These days mark the passage of 46 years since the Naksa of 1967, that setback that exposed the extent of corruption, rottenness and degradation in secular Nasser regime and in the Ba'athist Syrian regime. But, before I talk about the setbacks of secular governments, I want to talk about two crimes that are taking place right now at the hands of aggressive criminal and assailant, America. The first crime is what America is doing in Guantanamo in terms oppression, repression, aggression and assault against Muslims, who have been oppressed and imprisoned without charges or a trial for 13 years. It is that crime that exposed the lie about freedom, human rights, democracy and rights of the peoples that America keeps singing about. The hunger strike of our imprisoned brothers in Guantanamo exposed the real ugly, hated face of America, and we pledge to Allah that we will not spare any effort until we free them and all our captives, and on top of them, Omar Abdul Rahman, Aafia Siddique, and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, and every oppressed Muslim all over with the help and aid of Allah. Moreover, we must help every oppressed person in this world to get his rights back from his oppressor. This is our religion and these are the laws of our Shariah. The second issue is the lies of imposter Obama about the campaigns of spy planes against Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and other Muslim countries. I say to him: O lying imposter! You don't have the courage to admit your defeat and loss and the failure of your Crusader force in front of the will of Muslims and their sincerity and their jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan. You are defeated and don't have the courage and bravery to admit that; rather, you insist in the last stages of it to plant with your spy planes more hatred, malice and animosity against America and its allies and agents. These spy planes will not protect you from defeat; they are a sign of your failure and the repeated failure of your government. You killed in Vietnam 5 million people, then fled in defeat, and today you are defeated after you killed millions in Iraq and Afghanistan. You leave after your defeat a heritage of hatred and pursuit of revenge against you and your criminality and aggression. Obama said after the Boston incident, "this incident raises many questions," and I say to him and to America behind him: If your answer to these questions is more killing, don't blame but yourselves. Your war isn't a war on al-Qaeda, but it is a war on the Ummah of Islam. We, by the grace of Allah, are an Ummah that doesn't sleep while it is oppressed, and doesn't forget revenge. Whoever fights us we fight him, and whoever kills us we kill him, and whoever bombs us we bomb him, and whoever blows us up we blow him up, and consequences will be against the aggressors. I ask you a question that you don't dare to answer: You fought us for 13 years, so how did you find us? Did we soften or toughen up? Did we back out or advance? Did we withdrew or spread out? Therefore, I call on every Muslim in every spot on Earth to seek with all that he can to stop the crimes of America and its allies against the Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Mali and everywhere. Every Muslim must remember the words of the Truth, the Glorious and Almighty, to His Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him: . Every Muslim in every spot on Earth must work to defend the blood of Muslims that is being shed by America and its allies, and their sanctities that they are violating, and their villages and homes that they are destroying, and their wealth that they are stealing. I go back to talk about the setback that was brought to us by the secular regimes that fight Islam. In Egypt, the Egyptian army fled under the leadership of the dissolute Abdul Hakim 'Amir and the tyrant Gamal Abdul Nasser, in six hours, and it was dispersed in the desert in little pieces. And in Syria, the nationalist Ba'athist Nusayri regime announced the fall of the Golan before the Israeli army entered it. The result of the setback was that the Arab nationalist, patriotic secularists accepted Security Council Resolution No. 242 and recognized the legitimacy of Israel's existence over most of Palestine, and abandoned their Arab people in the State of Israel that they recognized. This is how the nationalists abandoned their nation and the patriots of their homeland. As for Abdul Nasser and his secular, tyrannical successors, they forgot Israel, which they used to intend to throw it in the sea, and they jumped into the sea of concessions. Their biggest victories became for the Israelis to withdraw from Sinai after disarming it, exactly like Hassan Nasrallah and the vilayat-e-faqih [jurisprudent ruler, referring in this case to Iran] accepted in the withdrawal away from the borders, which they claim to have liberated, leaving behind themselves a buffer zone in which they accepted a foreign occupation under the name of international forces. So, why make Anwar Sadat alone as a traitor? Hafiz al-Assad and then his progeny accepted the Israeli presence in the heart of the Arab world and they still repeat their false cheers: one Arab nation with an eternal message. If they spoke the truth, they would have said: an Arab nation divided by Israel, the legitimacy of which we recognize. As for the eternal message about which they talk, it is the message of no religion and no Islam, and repressing the Ummah and humiliating it and violating its sanctities. In order to achieve for the Nusayri Ba'athist regime the control over the Levant, it allied with the Safavid Rafidah [Shi'ite] project that is loyal to the vilayat-e-faqih, who is a deputy of the imam, the eternal one who is hiding in the crypt for more than 1,000 years, and it became the right of the vilayat-e-faqih, the deputy of the eternal one, to issue rulings as he wishes, because he is the deputy of the infallible one, and not only that, he gave himself the authorities that the Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him, had. It is the right of the vilayat-e-faqih, the deputy of the infallible imam, to consider collusion with the Americans to occupy Afghanistan to be of interest and good politics, and to consider the entrance of his followers, drooling behind the American tanks in Iraq and on their tops, a means of liberation and independence. It considered repressing the Muslim Ummah in Syria to be resistance, and to ally, while claiming to rule with Islam, with a secular regime that fights its people who are rising to demand the rule of Islam, and to support the criminal, oppressive, tyrannical regime against its Muslim unarmed people, even though it claims that it is the supporter of the weak and that it follows the way of our master al-Hussein, may Allah be pleased with him, who went out refusing oppression and despotism. It is not the right of anyone to ask him why and how, because he is the deputy of the infallible imam. The jihadi uprising in Muslim Syria exposed the ugly face of the head of the Rafidah Safavid project in the Levant, Hassan Nasrallah, and dropped the masks that it always hid behind. It became clear to the Muslim Ummah that it is just a tool in the hands of this Rafidah Safavid project, which seeks to impose the rule of the vilayat-e-faqih, the one with contradictions, over the Ummah of Islam through slaughtering, repressing, torturing, violating sanctities, and supporting one of the most corrupt, despotic and criminal regimes. The series of concessions is still continuing until this day. The new rulers in the countries of the aborted Arab revolutions sanctify the heritage of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hafiz al-Assad, Yassir Arafat and Hosni Mubarak, the heritage of concession, weakness and abandonment of Palestine and occupied lands of Muslims. Therefore, the Muslim Ummah today, in its rise against oppression and oppressors and against the invaders and the occupiers, must arm itself with commitment to the Shariah and the creed, and with historical political awareness, and seek to bring back its Caliphate, which didn't abandon Palestine in the worst stages of its weakness, and which Palestine only fell into the hands of the Jews after its fall following the betrayal of the Arab nationalists and their alliance with the Crusaders against it. O our Muslim Ummah, we must work altogether to bring back that Caliphate, that after we were deprived of it we were dispersed and defeated. We must, in this jihadi Islamic renaissance against the occupying invaders and tyrannical mighty ones, seek to bring back a rightly-guided Caliphate on the methodology of the Prophet, a rightly-guided Caliphate on the methodology of the Prophet that gets rid of every deviation, oppression and corruption, which led to the loss of the Islamic Caliphate and its defeat. The Caliphate fell after oppression and corruption, despotism and mightiness, and deviation came into it, and that is the natural law of Allah in His creations. The Truth, the Glorious and Almighty, said: . We want a rightly-guided Caliphate on the methodology of the Prophet, a Caliphate that follows the methodology of the rightly-guided Caliphs, may Allah be pleased with them, who assumed the Caliphate with the acceptance of the Ummah and its choices: our master Abu Bakr and our master Omar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who assumed the Caliphate with the consensus of the Ummah; and our master Othman and our master Ali, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who assumed the Caliphate with the choice of the masses of the Ummah; and then the master of the Ummah and the grandson of its Prophet, the rightly-guided fifth Caliph, our master al-Hassan, son of Ali, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who united the Ummah and extinguished the divisions, and it came true in him the words of the Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him: . This Caliphate that we want follows the methodology of the Prophet and the way of the rightly-guided Caliphs, it spreads counseling and justice, represses corruption, helps the oppressed, and librates al-Aqsa and the usurped Muslim homelands from East Turkistan to Andalusia. It is the Caliphate that revives the state of justice and counseling, and liberates the Ummah from domestic despotism and foreign invasion. It is a state that is based on acceptance and choice and questioning of the rulers, and not on selfishness, oppression, repression and taking away the rights of the Ummah and glorifying individuals and vindicating despotism. Therefore, our message to the Muslim Ummah in Iraq, the Levant, Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, Somalia, and in the east and west of the Ummah, is that we are your servants and sons and a part of you. Don't believe, O our dear Ummah, what the charlatan and lying media spread, that we seek to repress and oppress and tremble you, or that we need to seize power over you and impose on you what you don’t want. Don't believe that, O our dear Ummah, for all of that is charlatanry and lies and falsehood. We want an Islamic Caliphate in which the Ummah chooses its rulers with its will and freedom, and pledges allegiance to them through obedience, following the Book of Allah and the Sunnah [traditions] of His Messenger, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him, and obeys them as long as they obey Allah. We accept he who fulfills the Shariah qualifications and is chosen by the Ummah to rule over it with the Book of its Lord and the Sunnah of its Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him. We will then be his supporters and aids. The Western media that is against Islam and its followers from the media outlets in our countries, claim falsely that al-Qaeda wants to steal from the Ummah its right in choosing its rulers, and wants to impose on it a despotic, controlling rule that is oppressive and unjust, and that forces it and takes away its rights. This is part of the campaign of lies and falsehood in the frame of the Crusader campaign that is attacking Islam and Muslims. Al-Qaeda wants for the Ummah a Caliphate that it chooses according to its own consensus or the agreement of its masses. If the Ummah is able to implement Islamic rule anywhere in its land before establishing its Caliphate, then whomever the Muslim Ummah accepts in that land as an Imam who meets the Shariah conditions and leads it with the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then we will be the first to accept, because we don't seek rule; rather, we seek the rule of Islam. O our beloved Muslim Ummah, your mujahideen sons are waging today the battle of honor in Iraq and the Levant to liberate the Ummha from the tyrants and the invaders, and to bring back the Caliphate, and to liberate the usurped al-Aqsa and occupied Muslim lands. The dawn of the Caliphate started to rise through their jihad and sacrifices. Therefore, we say absolutely clear to our Muslim Ummah in general and to our people in the Levant in particular, al-Qaeda is farthest from usurping your right in choosing whomever you want as a Muslim ruler to lead you with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him. If Allah enables Islamic rule in the Levant soon, Allah permitting, then whoever the Muslim Ummah chooses there as a ruler who leads it with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him, will be our choice as well. We want for the Muslim Ummah in the Levant or Iraq, or in any Muslim region, to choose their rulers according to their own agreement, or at least with the consensus of their masses and the people of decision there, in order to revive the way of the rightly-guided Caliphs about whom the Prophet, Allah's peace and prayer be upon him, said: . Then, we want after that for the Muslim Ummah as a whole, to unite around one Caliph with its choice and acceptance. We aren't an alternative for the Ummah nor do we seek to control it. We are part of the Ummah. We are its servants. We defend it with our lives and protect its sanctities with our blood and its freedom with our souls. The Islamic State will be established with the help and will of Allah with the arms of all the sincere, free, honorable mujahideen, and with their sacrifices and offerings, and their choice and acceptance. Ahmed Shawqi said while calling the absent Caliphate: Our last supplication is all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah's peace and prayer be upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.

#RAILA REGROUPS!

#RAILA REGROUPS #CORD TROOPS AND HISTORY OF #ODINGA VS #KENYATTA RIVALRY REPEATS ITSELF: Raila Odinga's retreat to the Coast with Cord Governors and Senators comes on the backdrop of International pressure from the #US and the #EU for Uhuru's regime to honour "international obligations" - a diplomatic term telling President Uhuru to fully cooperate with the #ICC. Raila has already criticised the #Jubilee government for attempting to "climb a tree from the top", in reference to the missplaced priority of purchasing laptops for pupils while teachers starve!The re-organization within ODM is also in the offing with an overhaul expected to give the party new officials, especially the Executive Director, Chairman and Secretary General. Devolution, according to Raila; has been set up for failure due to meagre allocation of funds by the Central government. However, Governors are already lavishly budgeting the little funds provided to satisfy luxury lifestyles! Raila must reprimand them. What stands out though is the now intense rivalry brewing between Uhuru and Raila; and it starkly reminds Kenyans of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga versus the late Jomo Kenyatta rivalry. Throughout the 1980s, international criticism of KANU's human rights record grew and Odinga remained vocal in calling for democracy. In 1991, Odinga founded the National Democratic Party, but the government refused to recognize it and briefly jailed Odinga. However, international protests were effective and later that year Odinga and five other opposition leaders formed the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), the nucleus of a pro-democracy movement. When other nations cut off aid, KANU was forced to allow opposition activity.But FORD split in 1992, and a third leader formed another party. The splits allowed Moi to win the presidency in the December 1992 elections with about 35 percent of the vote; Odinga, 81 years old, finished fourth. In 1993, Odinga's reputation suffered when he admitted taking a campaign contribution from a bank accused of bribing government officials. In the months before his death in January 1994, Odinga tried to reconcile his branch of FORD with KANU, but without success. President Moi said at Odinga's death that "Kenya has lost a great son, a nationalist, and a patriotic citizen." In truth, it had lost its strongest opposition leader. Kenya hopes though that history will not repeat itself as a tragedy this time round: Kenyatta was heckled as he opened a hospital in Kisumu and three days later, Jaramogi’s KPU was banned. Saturday Nation looks back at that pivotal moment in history One Saturday exactly 40 years ago stands out as a pivotal moment in Kenya’s political history. On October 25, 1969, President Jomo Kenyatta travelled to Kisumu to officially open the “Russian Hospital” (New Nyanza General Hospital), a pet project of his fierce rival, opposition leader Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. The President and Kenya People’s Union leader exchanged harsh words, a scuffle broke out and as the hostile crowd advanced on the dais, presidential security personnel fired into the crowd, leaving more than 10 people dead as the visitors’ motorcade sped away. Three days later, the KPU was banned and Kenya became a de facto one-party state. With a vibrant democracy in the era of a new constitution, it is hoped that Raila's comeback should unite rather than divide Kenyans. However, this will much depend on how the #Jubilee coalition handles the one and only Enigma in Kenyan Politics.

#KENYA: INSPECTOR GENERAL APPOINTS COUNTY COMMANDERS.

A4SMEDIA NEWS can now reveal the details of the unconstitutional appointment of Police commanders to oversee the 47 counties of the Republic of Kenya. Seemingly working under instructions from the Office of the President, David Kimaiyo has ignored the process of lawfully recruiting County Commanders through the National Police Service Commission led by Johnstone Kavuludi. There has been a tug of war between Kimaiyo and Kavuludi for the better part of this year. Recently, David Kimaiyo, unhappy with the powers of the Kavuludi commission, sought to seek for ammendments to the law that created the National Police Service Commission in order to create a supreme office of the Inspector General of police! Even before ammendments to the law, David Kimaiyo has appointed the following people as county commanders in all 47 counties: KIMAIYO'S 47 POLICE COUNTY COMMANDERS. FULL LIST;

Benson Kibui (Nairobi County) Edward Mbugua (Mombasa), Leonard Omolo (Lamu), Gideon Amalla (Machakos), Hamis Mabeya (Nyandarua), Lilian OKembo (Trans Nzoia) Joseph Kine (Meru), Jecinta Wesonga (Nandi), Hassan Barua (Baringo), Charles Wasike (West Pokot), J ohnstone Ipara (Tharaka Nithi) Solomon Kiragu (Kisii) Nelson Okioga (Isiolo) Charles Bitonga (Taita Taveta). David Bunei goes to Mandera, Gabriel Musau (Homabay), Stanley Kilonzi (Kajiado), Joseph Limo (Tana River), Joseph Okello (Embu), Angelus Karuru (Laikipia), Christine Mutua (Kirinyaga), Clemeny Gatogo (Migori), John Koki (Nakuru), Rem Manegene Warui (Nyamira), Sarah Duncan (Vihiga), David Ngetich (Kisumu), Charles Kinyua (Garissa). Patrick Mwakio (Elgeyo Marakwet). Patrick Wambani (Samburu), David Kirui (Wajir), Charles Munyoli (Siaya), Agnes Okang’a (Nyeri), Erustus Muthamia (Marsabit), Rose Muchuma (Kericho), James Mugera (Kiambu), Leah Ngutu (Bomet), James Kithuka (Kilifi), Rachal Kipsoi (Makueni), Naomi Ichami (Murang’a) Beatrice Gachago (Bungoma), Kenneth Kimani (Kwale), Jones Githinji (Kitui), Emmanuel Karisa (Turkana), Grace Kakai (Narok), Halima Abdi (Busia), Selestino Nyaga (UasinGishu), Damaris Kinanu (Kakamega).

#OCCUPY_PARLIAMENT_RELOADED: IMAGES DON'T LIE!

The wise men say, "A picture is worth a thousand words!" Well, the greed of #Kenyan mps makes these images appreciate in value, they're worth more than a thousand words...They are the voice of the millions of Kenyans, suffering...without bitterness, in Jua Kali sheds, in shanties, in overcrowded classrooms...worse still, at jobless corner. Will the mps listen?

#WILLIAM SAMOEI RUTO & FRANCIS KIMEMIA OUT TO FRUSTRATE RAILA ODINGA!

#KENYA: CLASSIFIED LETTER LEAKS - RAILA WAS HARASSED BY JKIA OFFICIALS ON KIMEMIA'S AND #WILLIAM_SAMOEI_RUTO'S ORDERS! In yet another shocking revelation, details have emerged on a letters authored by Secretary to the cabinet, Francis Kimemia and copied to William S. Ruto first, then to Mutea Iringo, David Kimaiyo, Prof. Mutuma Mugambi and Mr. Stephen Gichuki! Since the letter is originating from the office of the President of the Republic of Kenya, it leaves no doubt that the highest authority in the land was aware of its intentions. Nevertheless, it is clearly Deputy President Ruto's office that coordinated its execution in close cooperation with Inspector General David Kimaiyo and Francis Kimemia! Senior political analyst and TNA activist Mutahi Ngunyi on his twitter handle; @MutahiNgunyi, states that Raila Odinga is "regrouping" and therefore President Uhuru and Deputy william Ruto should should act "decisively" and unapologetically against the former Premier. Only time will tell what this decisive and unapologetic action is, was or will be!

ICC IS AN ILLUMINATI COURT!

Many people in Africa have debated the issue of indictment of sitting presidents such as Omar-al-Bashir of Sudan and President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta of Kenya. This blog has always supported the ICC process in view of the victims' need for justice. However, after painstaking research and thorough soul-searching, it now emerges that the ICC is after all part of the global Illuminati system under advancement of the "New World Order!" It is therefore the firm conviction of the author of this article that justice for victims, particularly in Kenya, should be left to an African mechanism or a national mechanism. Truth be told, after successful prosecution of African leaders, the next victims of this injustice of the ICC will be religious leaders in Africa, for instance those refusing to sanction gay marriages and advancing such western rotten ideals. The New World Order under U.S. dominion turns international law on its head and puts criminal-bought flunkies on the judicial bench. America, which is not even a signatory to the treaty that created the International Criminal Court, calls all the shots like a Mafia don. Africans and a few Serbs are the only ones that get arrested, while great crimes against peace masquerade as humanitarian intervention. "Only the powerless are ever punished." The International Criminal Court (ICC) is despite its name, a court that advances the cause of criminality. It acts in concert with the most powerful nations on Earth, and allows them to engage in crimes of aggression against millions of people all over the world. Only the powerless are ever punished and the aggressors use the court to behave as if they were the injured parties. The world sees this institution in a benevolent light, assuming that it is a means of protecting humanity from the whims of evil doers in high places. Yet after nine years of existence, the ICC has managed to prosecute mostly little known African dictators and a few Serbians thrown in for good measure. Ironically, after having opposed the establishment of the ICC and after failing to ratify the treaty that brought it into existence, the United States is now its biggest cheerleader. The Bush administration was terrified that Americans, including Bush, Cheney and the rest of their henchmen and women, might be punished for their transgressions around the world. It is strange that after instigating the killings of thousands of people in Iraq, that neither Georg W. Bush nor Tony Blair have any reason to fear being brought to justice. They travel around the world, unafraid of punishment, giving speeches, writing books, making money, and having no worries whatever about getting their just deserts. "After instigating the killings of thousands of people in Iraq, neither Georg W. Bush nor Tony Blair have any reason to fear being brought to justice." They had even less reason to worry after Barack Obama succeeded them. As the more effective evil, Obama knew that he needed to eschew Bush regime ham handedness in international relations. While simultaneously refraining from ratifying the treaty which brought the ICC into existence, Obama and company constantly offer up others to put in the dock in the Hague. Last year Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicholas Sarkozy decided to carve up Libya, using NATO to do their dirty work, killing an untold number of civilians in the process, and they too have no fear of prosecution. Lead ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said as much while the crime was being committed, openly taking the side of the West. Moreno-Ocampo lied to the world, claiming that the Libyan government distributed Viagra to soldiers in order to use rape as a "weapon of war." The charge was a lie, made up out of whole cloth. If there was any pretense of ICC impartiality, Moreno-Ocampo himself dispelled any such notion. The anything but disinterested prosecutor is now featured in the latest Kony 2012 video, ending any debate about whether or not the phony, web driven, ginned up outrage has any standing in reality or truthfulness. "When Palestinians petitioned the ICC to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, they were turned away." While Obama and Clinton tried to scuttle Kofi Annn’s Syrian peace plan and hinted at President Assad’s prosecution before the ICC, the ICC showed its true colors. When Palestinians petitioned the ICC to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, they were turned away. Moreno-Ocampo determined that because Palestine has not been recognized by U.N. General Assembly it has no standing to seek justice for the 2,000 people massacred by Israel in 2008 and 2009. The hypocrisy is blatant, and proves that the United States and its allies present the greatest threats to peace in the world. At the United National Antiwar Coalition conference , a columnist once asked professor and author Vijay Prashad why the ICC prosecutes Africans and token Serbs, but never threatens anyone in Washington, London, Paris or Jerusalem. His answer was simple. "It is just international racism. I think there is no (other) way to explain it." George Orwell said, "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable." Those words are still true, humanitarian missions and "responsibility to protect" are in fact euphemisms meant to promote good old fashioned imperialism. The fact is that the United States, Israel and their European allies never protect anybody. They continue doing what they have done for decades, deciding who is inconvenient and therefore disposal. The human toll is "collateral damage" and quickly forgotten. "The United States and its allies present the greatest threats to peace in the world."

SHOCK ON MUSEVENI:BOTSWANA WAS RIGHT ON THE ICC!

In a powerful rebuttal of the African Union stand on the ICC, the ICC presidency has vindicated Botswana's stand. Two days ago, as the AU's 50th anniversary celebrations drew to a close, the whole AU membership, except Botswana, supported a resolution to petition the UN Security council in order for Uhuru Kenyatta, Joshua arap Sang and William Ruto's cases to be referred for local trial in Kenya. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni even claimed that the ICC is planning to detain Mr. Kenyatta when his trial commences on July 9th this year, but this seemed to his tactic of trying to draw attention of the AU membership to the "referral motion". The ICC has issued the following statement in this regard: ICC underlines impartiality, reiterates commitment to cooperation with the African Union: ICC-CPI-20130529-PR908: The Presidency of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues the following statement in light of reports on discussions concerning the ICC at the recent Summit of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: “The International Criminal Court acknowledges and respects the African Union’s important role as the continent’s main regional organization. As an impartial international judicial institution, the ICC, including its independent Office of the Prosecutor, strives to maintain good working relationships with all relevant international and regional bodies, including the African Union. The ICC’s relationship with Africa is all the more important considering that 34 African countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC. In addition, the majority of the Court’s current investigations were initiated following referrals or requests from the African States in question. The ICC operates strictly within the mandate and legal framework created by the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the Court, and cannot take political factors into account. Decisions are taken independently on the basis of the law and the available evidence and are not based on regional or ethnic considerations. Judges are the guarantors of the fairness of proceedings before the Court, from the authorisation of investigations to the confirmation or non-confirmation of charges and decisions on guilt or innocence. It must be recalled that cases before the ICC are not only about the suspects or the accused; they also concern the thousands of victims affected by the events under the ICC’s jurisdiction, many of whom are represented in the various proceedings with the help of legal assistance provided by the Court. The ICC does not replace national jurisdictions; it only complements them when necessary. The Rome Statute defines the criteria for deciding whether cases should be tried before the ICC or in a national judicial system, and this determination is made through a judicial process by independent judges of the ICC. In all proceedings before the ICC, suspects as well as concerned States have the possibility to address these matters in accordance with the Rome Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. While the Rome Statute gives the United Nations (UN) Security Council powers of referral and deferral in relation to the ICC, the exercise of these powers by the Security Council is governed by the UN Charter. The ICC is autonomous from the United Nations and does not participate in the Security Council’s decision-making. However once the Security Council refers a situation to the ICC, the investigation and proceedings that may arise from that situation are governed by the Rome Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ICC and are not influenced by the Security Council or any other external body. The Presidency stresses that the ICC is an independent institution that has a specific, judicial mandate created by States determined to end impunity and to contribute to the prevention of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The ICC counts on the continued support and cooperation of its States Parties in accordance with the Rome Statute and remains fully committed to a constructive and cooperative relationship with the African Union.”