NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 6 \u2013 Could a foreign power storm into Kenya and take away a sitting president for trial abroad?<\/p>\n
That question is now dominating public debate after the dramatic arrest and capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro by the United States and a Kenyan lawyer says the Constitution does not fully rule it out.<\/p>\n
High Court advocate Danstan Omari has warned that while President William Ruto enjoys immunity from prosecution in Kenyan courts, that protection does not extend to international crimes under global treaties Kenya has signed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany African presidents live with the fear that Americans can pick their president from the bedroom,\u201d Omari said during the first 2026 episode of his Court Helicopter Explainer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the big question Kenyans are asking is this, can a foreign country come here, pick President William Ruto, and take him for trial elsewhere? The answer lies in our own Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Omari explained that Article 143 of the Constitution gives the president immunity from criminal proceedings only within Kenya.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe cannot be taken to Makadara, Milimani or Nyamira courts while in office,\u201d Omari said. \u201cThat immunity only applies to Kenyan courts and crimes under the Penal Code.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he pointed to a lesser-known clause, Article 143(4) which he described as a major exception.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat same Constitution says the president can be arrested and tried outside Kenya if the crime falls under international treaties that prohibit immunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In simple terms, Omari said presidential immunity \u201cstops at Kenya\u2019s borders\u201d when it comes to serious international crimes.<\/p>\n
According to Omari, the Constitution allows for a sitting president to be arrested and taken abroad if accused of crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or crimes of aggression.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, genocide includes acts meant to destroy a community killing people, causing serious harm, or even stopping births,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrimes against humanity include widespread attacks on civilians murder, torture, forced disappearances, rape or persecution. If that happens, the president will be on a chopper heading out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances, human trafficking, piracy, slavery and international drug trafficking are also covered under global conventions Kenya has ratified.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a president uses state power to commit such crimes, international law applies. He will be arrested and taken for trial,\u201d Omari said.<\/p>\n
Omari\u2019s remarks came days after the US ordered the arrest and capture of Venezuela\u2019s president, an event that shocked many across the world and raised fresh questions about presidential power and sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Venezuelan president is not the first,\u201d Omari noted. \u201cHistory is full of leaders who believed they were untouchable.\u201d<\/p>\n
He cited former Serbian leader Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107, Liberia\u2019s Charles Taylor, Panama\u2019s Manuel Noriega and Iraq\u2019s Saddam Hussein all arrested and tried after leaving power or being forcibly removed.<\/p>\n
Other leaders mentioned include Libya\u2019s Muammar Gaddafi, Haiti\u2019s Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Congo\u2019s Patrice Lumumba.<\/p>\n
Omari stressed that his message was not political but legal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a wake-up call to African leaders who think they can run countries without accountability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Constitution itself allows foreign governments to step in and protect citizens if a president misbehaves under international law.\u201d<\/p>\n
He compared presidential immunity to a shield that only works at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt protects you inside your house,\u201d Omari said. \u201cBut once you break the neighbourhood rules, the neighbourhood watch is allowed to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Omari said future discussions would focus on the UN Charter and how international law is enforced globally but for now, he believes the lesson is clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cPower does not cancel the law,\u201d he said. \u201cNot even for a president.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 6 \u2013 Could a foreign power storm into Kenya and take away a sitting president for trial abroad? That question is now dominating public debate after the dramatic arrest and capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro by the United States and a Kenyan lawyer says the Constitution does not fully rule it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}