President Hage Geingob says he does not support the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Putin faces an arrest warrant from the ICC who claim he has committed crimes against humanity in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
The ICC is now putting pressure on South Africa to arrest Putin when he visits that country for the Brics (a grouping of developing countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit.
South Africa will host the Brics summit as the chair of the grouping in August this year.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday during his state visit to South Africa, Geingob questioned the jurisdiction of the ICC in dealing with such matters instead of local courts.
In an apparent reference to the issue Geingob said he once told the then United States secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, that America cannot insist that the ICC arrests certain leaders when they do not subscribe to the same court.
“As for the arrest warrant or whatever it is to be given, I was once faced by that situation when I was with the United States secretary of state that time, Hilary Clinton. She was so eager, attacking Kenya and telling us to take these people from Kenya to the International Criminal Court, so I asked her but how come you are not a member of the ICC,” he said.
‘She said their courts are good enough, so I asked her but what about us. I told her I don’t support the ICC because since Namibia became independent we have got our own systems, processes and institutions. We have our own courts that are independent, so any crime I commit I will be put on trial in the Namibian courts. America is not part of the ICC. I remember Koffi Annam was very angry with me,” he said.
He says there is a need to respect systems, processes and institutions of sovereign countries.
Speaking on the same issue South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said they are still discussing the pending arrest of Putin.
He said they have gone ahead and invited all Brics members to attend the forthcoming summit
Source : TheNamibian
