A Kenyan high court judge has ruled that Kenya has no jurisdiction over crimes committed by Somali pirates and has prohibited all magistrates’ court from dealing with cases of piracy.
By Kassim Mohamed
Friday, November 12, 2010
The highest ransom to date was paid earlier this week. 9.5m dollars for the release of Samho Dream, a South Korean oil supertanker they hijacked in the Indian Ocean in April this year.
Setback
Over the last year, Kenya has been involved in the trials of suspected pirates handed over by EU and US marines. But this may be over.
In what is considered a setback in the fight against piracy off the Somali coast, the Kenyan high court has ruled that Kenya has no jurisdiction over offences committed outside its territorial waters.
High court judge Mohammed Ibrahim directed this week the immediate release of nine suspected Somali pirates. They were found not guilty of attacking MV Courier armed with offensive weapons upon the high seas of Indian Ocean on March 3, 2009.
Judge Ibrahim set them free and ordered the government to ensure they were taken back to their country of origin.
In his ruling he noted that the law under which the nine suspects were charged did not provide for a definite explanation of what constituted the 'high seas', that it cannot be a place in Kenya or within its territorial waters.
"The local courts can only deal with offences or criminal incidents that take place within the territorial jurisdiction of Kenya,” said Ibrahim.
Mixed reactions
The news has been received with mixed reactions in Kenya. Prime Minister Raila Odinga has criticised the court’s ruling. The PM said piracy on the shores of Somalia posed a danger to Kenya’s security and had made imports to Kenya expensive because shipping costs went up.
Kenya's Attorney General Amos Wako has appealed against the ruling. As a result, Ibrahim has since granted a stay against the ruling he delivered to enable the State Law Office to file its appeal.
With this new development, the war against sea piracy off the coast of Somalia seems far from over.
Source: Radio Netherlands International