5 November 2009
Nairobi — The man some Kenyans have placed hope in to deliver justice over the post-election violence finally landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi on Thursday morning. The Kenya Airways flight carrying International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo landed at 7.30am, an hour late of the scheduled time.
In less than 10 minutes, the man, who is feared by those who suspect to be on a list of poll chaos suspects, was whisked away from the airport. Journalists, who had been waiting for two hours to get a glimpse of this man, were left confused by the swiftness of the move.
Instead of using the VIP area, Mr Moreno-Ocampo left the airport through an exit next to the cargo area. The swiftness of the action had been predicted by security personnel at the airport, who had warned journalists that he would leave without them noticing.
The ICC prosecutor made his way to Windsor Golf Hotel, where he was booked for his three-day stay, as he seeks a process that could see perpetrators of the post- election violence tried at The Hague. But it was no ordinary day for journalists as his security guards engaged them in a cat-and-mouse game.
Security was beefed up at the hotel, a pointer of the high profile status of the guest. Several police officers and other security men patrolled the compound. Information was, however, not forthcoming.
A receptionist at the hotel initially told the Nation that they were not expecting such a guest but quickly changed the story on further enquiry. "We are expecting him but we cannot tell when he would be arriving," she said to stop the endless stream of questions from reporters.
Windsor's chief security officer Mwangi Njuguna was, however, categorical that he could not divulge such information about any guest. "We will be invading the privacy of our guests by disclosing any information about them," he said. But the local security guards who spoke to the Nation on condition of anonymity confirmed that Mr Moreno-Ocampo was at the hotel.
At about 9am, close to two hours after Mr Ocampo set foot in Kenya, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo arrived in his new Volkswagen Passat that has replaced the fuel guzzlers he previously used.
He went straight into a meeting with the ICC prosecutor. The meeting lasted almost one-and-half hours in one of the cottages. By this time, security personnel had almost doubled, so had the number of journalists. At 10.40am, the man finally emerged, strutting calmly on the tarmac in the residents' area.
Surrounded by five armed security guards, the tanned skin was unmistakable. It was Moreno-Ocampo on Kenyan soil. The sight of journalists and cameras pointed at his direction was the last thing Mr Ocampo wanted at the time. He only walked a short distance and was then quickly ushered into the official dark limousine parked outside.
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