Bernard Namunane and David Mugonyi
2 November 2008
Nairobi — Chief mediator Kofi Annan has cautioned that attempts by MPs to trash the Waki report on post- election violence may not succeed.
The former UN secretary-general, who helped restore peace in the country early this year, has quietly phoned some members of the mediation team with a message that it will not be easy to shelve the Waki Commission report.
Sources said that Mr Annan, who is holding the secret envelope with a list of prominent people who are suspected to have planned and financed the chaos in which more than 1,133 people were killed, also added that the suspects will not easily escape the hands of justice.
It is said that Mr Annan is concerned at the spirited crusade by MPs from PNU and ODM to either reject or manipulate the findings of the report that has captured the psyche of the nation since it was handed over to President Kibaki in the presence of Prime Minister Raila Odinga a few weeks ago.
"He (Annan) has quietly expressed his concerns about those who are trying to throw out the Waki report. He says that it will not be easy for those who are mentioned in the sealed envelope to escape," said a source.
The Waki Commission is among bodies that were created by the mediation team as it worked on the National Accord to secure a stable Kenya.
Others include the Commission on the disputed Presidential Election Results and the yet to be constituted Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
The eight members in the team that Mr Annan chaired were Cabinet ministers Sam Ongeri, Martha Karua, Moses Wetang'ula, Mutula Kilonzo (all from PNU) while ODM was represented by deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi and Cabinet ministers William Ruto, James Orengo and Sally Kosgei.
Of the members of the mediation team, it is only Mr Ruto who has come out strongly in opposition of the report, saying the Waki team did not satisfy its mandate.
He has also dismissed the report as full of "rumours, innuendo and hearsay".
Although Dr Kosgei has not openly opposed the implementation of the report, sources said she expressed her reservations about it during an ODM Parliamentary Group meeting on Thursday.
ODM MPs unanimously agreed to reject the report in toto, arguing that it contained "incurable errors". They also said it contradicted the Constitution.
This was after a spirited effort by Prime Minister Raila Odinga to have it be implemented, even partially, was shot down.
Mr Wetang'ula has called for a delicate balancing to ensure impunity was ended while the country achieved reconciliation. However, Ms Karua, Mr Kilonzo, Mr Mudavadi and Mr Orengo have openly called for its full implementation.
Ms Karua and Mr Kilonzo have warned that failure to form a tribunal as envisaged in the recommendations to try the suspects in the envelope locally will leave them at the mercy of International Criminal Court.
Some PNU members have also opposed the full implementation of the report saying that it was flawed. However, a formal party stand will be known tomorrow.
Even though, they are demanding that the secret list be presented to Parliament with evidence alongside the report, failure to which they will reject it.
The Nation can also reveal that President Kibaki agreed that the secret list containing names of suspects behind the violence should be handed over to Mr Annan.
The Nation learnt that the President did not demand to be given the envelope containing the list now causing a storm among politicians.
Elsewhere, Nairobi Catholic archbishop John Cardinal Njue on Sunday warned politicians against attempting to cover up the recommendations of the Waki report.
"People should not take this country for a ride. All we want is the truth and covering it up would only lay the foundation for a worse situation in future," he said.
Speaking during a harambee (fundraiser) in aid of the St Augustine Catholic Parish in Juja, Thika District, Cardinal Njue told political leaders to stop panicking over the report and let the law take its course.
Additional reporting by Oliver Mathenge
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