Abstract

This paper explores how the need for power as a personality trait of PresidentKenyatta influenced Kenya’s antagonistic foreign policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) between 2013 and 2017. Despite the ICC promising to deliver illusive justice to victims of the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya, by holding Kenyatta to account for the atrocities committed during the violence; support for the Court’s intervention among Kenyans dwindled in the aftermath of the 2013 general elections, when Kenyatta assumed the Presidency. While scholarly debates suggest that persons holding political powers are less likely to face prosecution at the ICC, since power provides them with the leverage to circumvent the judicial process to their advantage; there is yet to be an analytical measure on how Kenyatta’s trait on need for power, influenced Kenya’s relations with the ICC. Guided by Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA), this paper undertakes quantitative content analysis using profiler plus software; on two speeches and three interviews, purposively sampled from utterances delivered by Kenyatta on the ICC, between 2013 and 2017, to measure his need for power. The paper finds that Kenyatta was low in need for power, explaining why he enabled his followers to feel strongly against the ICC, and why he built team spirit among members of his teamagainst the ICC. It recommends that the ICC should undertake psychological investigations on leaders whom it seeks to prosecute, with the view to determine how their personality traits will affect the success of investigations and prosecution by the Court