It is rare for a prisoner to take a Court hostage. Ironically, that is what seems to be happening between Laurent Gbagbo and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although Gbagbo sits at the Penitentiaries Inrichting Haagland, on allegations of crimes against humanity, in fact, it is the system of international justice that is on trial.

The ICC, an American inspired creation to sustain its pro-Western dictators in Africa, against attacks by nationalistic forces, is now on trial. South Africa, Burundi, Gambia and many other African nations now realize, it was a court created to prosecute poor African rebels, while shielding its pro-Western dictators, like Joseph Kabila, Paul Kagame and Allassane Ouattara.

The case against Laurent Gbagbo has exposed the neo-colonial underpinnings of the ICC. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to restore the lost grandeur of the France during the De Gaulle era, could not stand the gall of an African leader who did not hesitate to tell him to his face, that the era of colonial vassalage has ended. Gbagbo, like Nkrumah, Lumumba, Sankara and Gadhafi are the breed of African nationalists whom the West wants rather dead than alive.

That is why the trial of Gbagbo has turned into a trial of the International Criminal Court, which has now been exposed as an African neo-colonial court, with jurisdiction against none but poor, exploited Africans.

By Larry Eyong