The Nation (Nairobi)
6 July 2009
editorial
Nairobi — The debate about the process of dealing with perpetrators and financiers of last year's post-election violence in Kenya rages but nothing concrete appears to be on the horizon.Last week, Attorney-General Amos Wako and Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo and James Orengo flew to Geneva and the Hague to plead for more time before a way out was found.
Arising out of that trip, Kenya was asked to prepare a 12-month plan, with regular updates starting in September, stating how it wants to resolve the cases which arose out of the mayhem that saw the country sink to its nadir.Principally, there have been two options: one, establishing a local tribunal to try the suspects and two, sending them to the International Criminal Court at the Hague.
The first option was roundly rejected by Parliament three months ago and faces the same fate should it be reintroduced in the House.That leaves the second option, which, according to experts, may not be ideal because of the time it is likely to take, and the fact it would only target a few people. Now, Justice minister Kilonzo has crafted another option, which he says, has been sent to the Cabinet for discussion.In this third way, he proposes setting up a special division in the High Court to try the suspects.
Right from the word go, this appears like another poor attempt at wriggling out of the dilemma. The credibility of the court system is at its lowest and any institution created under its jurisdiction will certainly suffer the same fate.
Listening to the debates, it is clear political leaders do want to resolve this issue. Every view is informed by self-preservation and nobody wants to confront the issues squarely and allow the country to come to terms with the ugly blot in its history.The public is now confused. There is too much heat and little light. Which way do we go from here?
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