The Nation (Nairobi)
Kennedy Lumwamu and Dennis Odunga
3 November 2009
Nairobi — Post-election violence victims want to meet International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo when he arrives in Nairobi on Thursday.
Former Kabete MP Paul Muite, Centre for Human Rights and Democracy executive director Ken Wafula, and Ms Pamela Chepng'etich of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict claimed that the victims had been denied a voice.
They also want Mr Moreno-Ocampo to disclose the names of the leaders in the Waki envelop.
"The government should demand that he issues open warrants so that people can know who the suspects are," said Mr Muite.
They spoke during an emotional workshop in Eldoret and attended by those whose family members were killed and those who were hurt in the violence.
"It is your responsibility to travel to Nairobi and meet him to explain your case because until now, it is the suspects, most of whom are in the government, who are pushing the agenda," Mr Muite told them.
He said there could be no reconciliation without justice, adding that if impunity was allowed to take root, there could be worse chaos in 2012.
Mr Wafula said they were pushing for a meeting with Mr Moreno-Ocampo but that if that failed, they would compel him to listen to the victims at the Jomo Kenyatta international Airport when he arrives.
He added that it would not be fair for only the President and the Prime Minister to speak to the ICC prosecutor and leave out the victims of the violence. They said they had a petition to give him.
Mr Muite told the victims from across the ethnic and political divide to organise themselves and present their case as "nobody will do it for you".
The victims asked that the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission, the local tribunal fronted by MP Gitobu Imanyara, and the ICC to carry out their work concurrently.
Among those who spoke were Ms Lucy Cherono, who is now paralysed after being attacked in Naivasha, Ms Margaret Wamboi Kariuki, who watched as her husband was killed by unruly youths, and Ms Anne Gathoni, whose husband was also killed and his body mutilated.
Separately, the government has been asked to buy land at market rate from internally displaced people willing to sell.
The landless could then be settled on the property in an equitable manner to promote national integration.
Kenya Land Alliance National Coordinator Odenda Lumumba said some IDPs were willing to sell their land and leave but were stuck because of low prices.
"Where shall we buy land with the peanuts they are offering? The perception that we acquired this land for free is misplaced and only meant to create more hatred," said Mr Simon Karanja in Burnt Forest.
Mr Lumumba was speaking at Rurigi in Eldoret East District during the launch of the "Land Data Survey Report on Internal Displacement".
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