Oliver Mathenge
1 October 2009
Nairobi — The government will hand over election violence suspects, thought to include six sitting Cabinet ministers, to The Hague.
The six are part of a list of suspected perpetrators of the chaos, compiled by a judicial commission of inquiry chaired by Justice Philip Waki, that also names five MPs, seven former MPs and prominent people and businessmen.
They are accused of either financing or orchestrating the worst ethnic violence in Kenya's history in which 1,133 people were killed and 650,000 others left homeless.
Protect anyone
On Thursday, Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo warned that the government will not protect anyone, saying that Kenya has adopted an international crimes law and, therefore has no choice but to cooperate with the International Criminal Court.
In any case, the Cabinet on July 30 resolved that it would fulfil its legal obligations under the treaty that formed the world court, he added.
"It was a statement by the top organ of the country that the government will cooperate with the ICC. The ICC can sit in Kenya and we do not have to surrender anyone we just need to arrest them, put them in cells and take them before the court when that time comes," Mr Kilonzo said.
Julius Mwelu/IRIN
Demonstrations during Kenya's post-election conflict.
"Unless Parliament repeals the International Crimes Act or Kenya withdraws from the Rome treaty, there is really no choice but to help Mr Ocampo in his work," he added.
"But the government has no intention of repealing the law or quitting the treaty since it is in the process of reforming the country into an icon of governance."
On Wednesday, Mr Ocampo said he was coming to Kenya to meet President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga over the next steps in trying the suspects.
Try the rest
His approach is to have the ICC prosecute those most responsible for the violence. The rest will be tried by a tribunal formed by Parliament.
The will deal with historical injustices and suggest mechanisms to prevent crimes against humanity in future.
"Kenya will be a world example on managing violence," the prosecutor said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.
Mr Ocampo has written to Mr Kilonzo saying he was ready to start talks on the next steps after the government failed to meet a Wednesday deadline to set up a tribunal.
"In the letter to me he writes, 'As agreed on July 3, I would suggest that we have a conversation on the next steps to be taken'," Mr Kilonzo said.
He said he was ready to invite Mr Ocampo to the country if Attorney General Amos Wako and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti failed to do so.
"The prosecutor of Kenya, according to the Constitution, is the Attorney General and, so long as we are not constituting a local tribunal, it is strictly he who is able to invite Ocampo in that capacity. But of course, as it so often happens in Kenya, if he declines to do so, I will," he said.
In a related development, chief mediator Kofi Annan will have a private lunch meeting with President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He will also hold talks with Mr Odinga ahead of the lunch, but it was yet unclear whether he would meet the President separately.
Mr Annan issued a statement saying that he will be in the country from Sunday to assess the progress made on agreements reached ahead of the formation of the grand coalition government.
This is the first time the former UN secretary-general is coming to the country since receiving the Waki report in October 2008.
Exchange views
The man who mediated the Kenyan post-election crisis has since handed over the envelope containing the names of key suspects together with the Waki report to Mr Ocampo.
The talks will be about the reforms the coalition government was supposed to undertake after the signing of the power sharing agreement.
"During his visit, he also intends to exchange views with representatives of civil society, including religious leaders and the business community, and other stakeholders in Kenya regarding the reform process," a statement from the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities read.
At the same time, Parliament's opposition caucus is planning to meet Mr Ocampo.
Garsen MP Danson Mungatana said the caucus will use the meeting to push for the prosecution of those who financed the election violence.
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What!
Where are the Mau Mau when Kenyans need them to turn back this submission to racist europeans, who have no sense of law, order and justice?
Let the europeans FIRST go persecute and prosecute the wicked western powers for the UNPROVOKED invasion and mass slaughter of INNOCENT Iraqi women children, etc!
This latest version of colonization, voluntary colonization, is sickening; and MUST cause freedom-loving ancestors to be turning in their graves!
When will SOME Africans wake the hell up and recognize that the europeans are and have been THE BIGGEST CRIMINALS on the planet?
Turning over Africans to racist europeans IS to assist in the strengthening of the deluded devils of Europe.
Those responsible for slaughtering Africans (with the aid of europeans) MUST be tried in Africa, by Africans!
Where have you been?You need to wake up.First of all if they say that they are going to try the suspects of the pre election violence in Africa.Not one of the suspects will be tried. Second by your article you call the europeans racists and yet you sound like a racist yourself. Yes europeans did commit crimes against africans.It is part of out history but we have to move on.The african leaders that are goven our countries today are not all doing a good job.6 million african children die every year of treatable diseases and hunger.Where is the justice there?
"Where are the Mau Mau ... racist europeans, who have no sense of law, order and justice?"
Should we understand that, according to you, Kenyatta's and President Kibaki's murderous Mau Mau terrorists have a "sense of law, order and justice"?
Only the ignorant, the criminals or their apologists would even think of 'move on' instead of persecuting & prosecuting UNPROVOKED crimes by european criminal invaders, who still controlling African lands & resources.
We 'move on' but ONLY after 'Rule of Law' has been applied, and restitution is made by criminal invaders to INNOCENT Africans.
Europeans have been the BIGGEST CRIMINALS on the planet. Just do the 'body count' and the 'amount stolen', etc
So to be even thinking about sending Africans to europe for so-called trial is a fat joke!
Sending Africans to europe, ONLY serves to encourage and legitimize the historical criminality of europeans, and delude them that they know anything about societal law, order or justice.
If europeans had any sense of law order and justice, then those european powers responsible for the massive killing of INNOCENT Iraqi children, women, etc would be in the Hague; because the UNPROVOKED attack on Iraq by europeans has been the BIGGEST act of criminality in recent history.
Africans should be more concerned about expelling criminal colonialists, who still control prized Kenyan lands!
Any African so-called leader who even thinks about sending Africans to europe should be removed from any position of influence, and even confined.
No one group can ever control the world; so the relentlessness of european delusion is time-wasting, disruptive and dangerous.
Europeans should be made to mind their own business in Europe, and be rebuffed and severely beaten back when they meddle elsewhere.
The citizens who recently put that british gem thief out of his misery in Kenya, demonstrates how the law catches up with thieves if they remain relentless in bringing poverty on Africans.