Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the changing and often contentious relations between institutions of international justice and African civic actors by examining the relation between Kenyan NGOs and the International Criminal Court.

Paper long abstract:

The effect of international criminal justice on Africa has been mostly debated in respect to the African state, its sovereignty and accountability. However, international criminal cases also impact on the room for manoeuvre and agency of civic actors in Africa. The paper examines the interaction of Kenyan non state actors and the International Criminal Court investigating the country's 2007 post-election violence. It chronicles their changing relations from the tactical involvement of the ICC to pressure the Kenyan government to investigate the violence, to the considerable hopes Kenyans placed on the ICC proceedings and to the often difficult relations between Kenyan NGOs and the office of the Prosecutor at the ICC, including the considerable disappointment that the trial will only start after the March 2013 elections in Kenya. The paper shows that African civic actors often maintain changing relations to global actors; at times they might team up with international actors to effect domestic change but they can also be frustrated by global institutions slowing down or outright hindering their emancipatory politics.