Africans accuse ICC of racial bias in choosing Kony lawyer

African lawyers have written a protest letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC), claiming they were racially edged out of the institution’s recruitment process to pick a lawyer to defend warlord, Joseph Kony.
In their protest letter dated August 26, the lawyers under their association, the African Bar Association, claim that ICC adopted a secret selection process to find Kony a defence lawyer.
“It is now clear from all indications, that not a single candidate from Africa was ever short-listed for the interview because the entire process was racially motivated and was conducted in extreme secrecy to deny any African the opportunity to be selected by the court,” the protest letter reads in part.
It added: “In light of that, we hereby file this complaint against the Registry including but not limited to any of its subsidiary that was responsible for the secret selection criteria that led to the exclusion of qualified, competent, and experienced counsels from Africa.”
The lawyers say that following an advert by the court for candidates to represent Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), a total of 72 lawyers applied but only three are known to have come from Kenya, Uganda, and Liberia.
They further claim that instead of the ICC setting up an open vetting process, publishing the rules of engagement, short-listing the number of persons selected, and those left out, why and on what basis, publishing the names of those short-listed and how many rounds were held for the interview process, the Registry adopted a secret selection criteria in which it claimed 10 persons were first short-listed and this was reduced to six, but “woefully failed” to provide any information as to how the process was done.
“The court’s refusal to be pragmatic and open up a more competitive vetting process, by short-listing competent and qualified lawyers from Africa who have applied to represent Mr Kony, is lending suspicion to the popularly held view that the ICC has become a ‘haven’ for employment opportunities only for European lawyers,” the African lawyers said.
At the end of the recruitment process, a British national, Mr Peter Haynes, emerged as the best to represent Kony.
The elusive rebel leader faces 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity that he allegedly committed when he waged a civil war against the current regime, leaving more than 100,000 killed and 1.5 million displaced.
ALSO READ: The trial of rebel Joseph Kony: Too little, too late?
ICC boosts efforts to revive case against Kony
Mid this year, ICC put out an advert, calling for suitable persons to be hired as the defence lawyer for Kony.
The court reasoned that all their suspects including Kony, are presumed innocent until proven guilty and therefore, entitled to a defence lawyer if they don’t have any.
But in their protest letter, the African lawyers claimed Mr Haynes was not the best choice.
“In all fairness, Mr Haynes is culturally incompetent; has no formal training or appreciation of the rigours of criminal prosecution, does not meet the ICC’s own selection criteria; does not understand the social, cultural, and political dynamics of Uganda, and therefore, his controversial appointment will be more of a liability and a total embarrassment than an asset in terms of adequate legal representation of the defendant’s interest,” the lawyers wrote.
Yesterday, the spokesperson of the ICC, Mr Fadi El Abdallah, when contacted about the protest letter, said he was on leave. He, however, shared an email address on which to send our questions to.
KONY CHARGES
According to the ICC website, Joseph Kony was a commander-in-chief of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), at the time an arrest warrant was issued on July 8, 2005.
Charges: According to the Prosecution’s submission of the document containing the charges, Joseph Kony is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between July 1, 2002 until December 31, 2005 in northern Uganda. While the case originally involved Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Vincent Otti, proceedings against them were terminated due to their death.
RECOGNIZED UGANDANAS 
Some of the Ugandan lawyers who are on the ICC list of counsels of September 30 include: 
Moses Adriko Jurua
Peter Kabasti
Macdosman Kabega
Daniel M. Walyemera 
Eva Luswata Kawuma (Court of Appeal Justice)
Valentine Magala
Sarah Kerwegi
Joseph Manoba Akenyu
Jude Ogik