(Corrects quote in paragraph 5 to read "separation" of powers)
* Annan says politicians must not mix law with diplomacy
* World bodies "cannot tell Kenya to ignore ICC"
By Yara Bayoumy
NAIROBI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan has urged Kenya to respect the judiciary's independence, after political leaders condemned a Nairobi court ruling calling for the arrest of Sudan's president.
Last week the Kenyan court ordered the government to arrest President Omar al-Bashir if he sets foot in Kenya, and hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague where he is wanted on genocide charges.
The decision, which came more than a year after Kenya failed to arrest Bashir during a visit, led Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula to call it a "judgment in error". He vowed to appeal the court order and flew to Khartoum to contain the fallout.
The row comes as Kenya awaits a decision by the ICC on whether to confirm charges of crimes against humanity against six high-profile Kenyans, including two contenders in next year's elections.
"I have a feeling people need to get used to the new system. You have a new system with separation of powers, an independent judiciary, executive and legislature, and it's new," Annan told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on national dialogue and reconcilation late on Tuesday.
"And so when the court asserts its independence, some people who are used to the old way of doing business still think it's business as usual ... I don't think you can mix law, diplomacy, politics," said Annan, who mediated an end to violence that left 1,220 people dead after Kenya's Dec. 2007 election.
KENYA "BOUND BY ICC STATUTE"
As an ICC member state, Kenya is legally obliged to cooperate with the court and its arrest warrants.
But the African Union (AU) has told its members to ignore the warrant against Bashir, on the grounds that the court is unfairly targeting African rulers.
On Monday the AU reiterated it would "comply scrupulously with the African common position on the respect of the immunity" of Bashir and other incumbent African heads of state.
"Kenya is a signatory of the (ICC) Rome statutes which is binding. I'm not sure even the U.N. can go and take a decision and tell member states don't cooperate with the ICC, don't cooperate with the Rome statutes. You signed it but ignore it," Annan said.
Of the two Kenyan ICC suspects, former minister William Ruto and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's founding father, plan to run in the presidential election next year.
Legal proceedings could damage their chances and some obervers say they could ignite violence between rival ethnic groups, raising questions over whether the government will cooperate with the ICC.
"The Kenyan government should abide by its legal obligations. And in fact right from the beginning they have indicated they'll cooperate with the court. I hope that commitment stands, regardless of which way the decision of the court goes," Annan said.
At an earlier news conference, Annan dismissed fears of violence should an ICC trial go ahead, citing the example of the Balkans where "people are getting on with their lives" in spite of prosecutions of former leaders.
Annan said Kenyans wanted no return to the violence of the last elections. Annan's mediation then brought together Mwai Kibaki, an ethnic Kikuyu, as president, and Raila Odinga, from the Luo tribe, as prime minister.
"The people of Kenya have changed and they've moved on and they want a society governed by rule of law, they want to fight impunity, they want to fight corruption," Annan said.
"I think some of the politicians are behind the curve." (Editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Roche)
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