Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Timothy Munuku
9 November 2009
Nairobi — Four Cabinet ministers convinced they could be arrested by International Criminal Court agents because of their role in post-election violence have held a series of meetings with lawyers to stall Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo's plans.
They held a meeting on Friday night in Loresho Estate to have President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga establish a special division of the High Court to try suspects.
Their plan B involves pressing Kibaki and Raila, at this week's Cabinet meeting, to take over Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara's Bill, amend it and present it to Parliament for debate and adoption.
One of the two lawyers at the meetings said yesterday: "Once the special division is set up, the ICC will be asked to halt its investigations because the government would have put in place a credible judicial process that can satisfy international standards to try post election violence suspects."
The ministers are relying on the recently enacted International Crimes Act-2008 which provides that a person who is alleged to have committed certain crimes specified under the Act, may be tried and punished in Kenya.
The Rome Statute gives priority to credible national processes and ICC moves in after a government has failed to set up one or is unwilling to create a credible judicial process.
But an expert on how the ICC works, lawyer Betty Murungi, said Ocampo will not abandon his efforts even if a special division of the High Court is established.
"It is not either or but it is both the local tribunal and ICC. These two are meant to be complimentary and those hoping to halt Ocampo by setting up a local mechanism are misinformed," said Murungi, currently in The Hague for a conference.
In his last media briefing before he left on Saturday, Ocampo said there was still need to set up a Special Tribunal to try hundreds of other suspects because he was only going to deal with "two or three".
He will make a formal request to the ICC to start his investigations. He has credible evidence against four cabinet ministers who bear the greatest responsibility for the violence that left 1,300 dead and about 500,000 displaced.
ICC has appointed three judges - Ekaterina Trendailova, Hans-Peter Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser - to handle the Kenyan case.
Ocampo's zeal has caused panic and raised political temperatures among politicians who had initially supported The Hague as the best option because they thought it would take too long.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo yesterday warned against sabotaging Ocampo saying the country had no choice but to end the culture of impunity.
He confirmed he had met resistance from some of his colleagues when he presented his proposals on a special local tribunal.
"You do not expect the same people to be happy now that Ocampo is moving with swiftness to ensure that justice is done," he said yesterday.
"There are hundreds of people who torched houses, raped and killed, they too must be brought to book and that is why I will support the Imanyara Bill when it comes to the floor of the House," Mutula said.
Imanyara said yesterday: "I will not co-operate if the intention is to stop Ocampo. I'm determined to see this Bill through Parliament with all its provisions intact. No law is perfect, but we must take the first step then improve on it."
Debate on the Bill is expected to be fast-tracked when Parliament resumes tomorrow. Two proposals likely to cause problems are those lifting presidential immunity and requiring any Cabinet minister mentioned to resign.
According to documents prepared by the lawyers and seen by the Star, the ministers want the Special Division court created by Chief Justice Evan Gicheru without Parliament's approval.
The special court will have at least two judges from the Commonwealth but the chief prosecutor and investigator will both be Kenyans.
Chief Justice Gicheru will be expected to name a number of other Kenyan judges including those in the Court of Appeal to head the special court.
A similar proposal was presented to the Cabinet in July after it rejected two Bills presented by Mutula proposing of a Special Tribunal.
President Kibaki directed a special Cabinet sub-committee to draw up a proposal on how it could be constituted and sources say that it is the proposal likely to be presented to Cabinet on Thursday.
The sub-committee comprises of Mutula, Lands minister James Orengo, Attorney General Amos Wako and Foreign minister Moses Wetangula.
Law Society of Kenya council member Evans Monari said creating a special division of the High Court was the only viable option left for the government because it will satisfy the requirements of the Rome Statute and also provide an effective home-based mechanism for fighting impunity.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 Nairobi Star. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
[Daniel 11:14 ]] And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south(AMERICA / BABYLON ): ALSO the ROBBERS OF OUR PEOPLE shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; BUT THEY SHALL FALL !
* 16 European Nations . Met And Plotted On How They Would Rob Africa Of Its Riches.
* They met during two(2) Periods of time in two(2) places
* The General Act Of Berlin Conference (Nov, 1884 to February, 1885)
* Brussels Belgium to finalize SECRET agreements ( Nov, 1889 to July 1890)
* The Book “King Leopold’s Ghost (1998) by Adam Hochschild documents some of This information.
The following Nations (Households) - Planned how they would divide among themselves our AFRICAN Riches.
1) Austria-Hungary - Francis Joseph I Charles - August 18, 1830 -
2) Belgium - King Leopold II – April 9, 1835
3) Denmark - Frederik VIII -June 3, 1843
4) France - Marie François Sadi Carnot – August 11, 1837 -
5) Germany - Wilhelm II -– January 27, 1859
6) Great Britain - Queen Victoria (Hanover) – May 24, 1819 – British Ruler – 2nd
7) Holland –William III – February 19, 1817
8) Italy - Umberto I - March 14, 1844 -
9) Norway - Oscar II [Oscar Frederik] – January 21, 1829 (Also Sweden)
10) Portugal - Carlos I – September 28, 1863
11) Russia - Alexander III Alexandrovich – March 10, 1845
12) Spain - Alfonso XIII – May 17, 1886
13) Sweden - Oscar II – January 21, 1829 (Also Norway)
14) Turkey - Abdülhamid II, - September 2 or September 22 - 1842 -
15) United States - Benjamin Harrison – August 20, 1833 -
16) Persia (Iran) - Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar – July 16, 1831 –
For centuries Black Africans have been exploited and exploited in the name of Islam. Then with the coming of the Portueses (so-called Christians) to Ghana around the 1440s , the so-called Christians started their exploitation.
The Black Athena (Part1) [ Spiritual Reparations ] URL – [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4maNtzhL9Q ]
FRITZ SPRINGMEIER A Bold Christian Truthseeker The Top 13 Illuminati Bloodlines [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k73Q2_f4vKU ]
We Black Africans are puzzling. We have a bounty of riches around us, yet we persist in allowing outsiders to steal them; while we fight each other over trivial matters.
Just in case you're wondering, here's some Black Africans who have done wondrous things to change the way we live in the world.
For example : Garrett-Augustus Morgan invented the Traffic Signal to CURB (no pun intended) TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS !!!
* Buridge & Marshman - TYPEWRITER
* George Carruthers - X-RAY MACHINE
* George Washington Carver - PEANUT BUTTER - PAINTS – PAINT STAINS – ETC
* W.A. Dietz - SHOE
* Charles R. Drew - BLOOD PLASMA STORAGE SYSTEM
* Michael Harney - LANTERN
* Augustus Jackson - ICE CREAM
* H.A. Jackson - KITCHEN TABLE
* Isaac R. Johnson - BICYCLE FRAME
* John A. Johnson - WRENCH
* Frederick M. Jones - DEFROSTER - REFRIGERATION CONTROLS – AIR CONDITIONER
* Jones & Long - BOTTLE CAPS
* Lewis Latimer & Nichols - ELECTIC LAMP
* John L. Love - PENCIL SHARPENER
* Tony J. Marshall - FIRE EXTINGUISHER
* Alexander Miles - ELEVATOR
* W.A. Martin - LOCK
* Garrett A. Morgan - GAS MASK - Traffic Signal
* Lydia Newman - HAIR BRUSH - Nov 15, 1898
* W.B. Purvis - FOUNTAIN PEN
* L.P. Ray - DUST PAN
* W.H. Richardson - BABY BUGGY
* G.T. Sampson - CLOTHES DRYER
* .W. Smith - LAWN SPRINKLER
* J. Standard - REFRIGERATOR
* T.W. Stewart - MOP
* Maxine Snowden - RAIN HAT - 1983
* Paul E. Williams - HELICOPTER
* Granville T. Woods - Roller Coaster
* Granville T. Woods - Telegraph Transmission Devices - Dec 2, 1884 Patents # - 308, 816 (7)
Thanks to The Black Inventors Museum P.O. Box 76128 Los Angeles , Calif. (90076) Phone (310) 859-4602)
Director : Ghanaian Mr. Hamza Salifa
Contributor of Information : SEESTAH Imahkus Nzinga Okofo [http://www.oneafricaghana.com/first_and_foremost.htm ]
The Swine Flu Vaccination Hoax - Explained URL – [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbFxV_C8Yw4 ]
[Check Out :
3) Who Brought The Slaves To America ? URL = [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuzhnKy63io ] Or [http://wideeyecinema.com/?p=911]
WAKE UP !!! STAY UP !!!
[ libradio.net ]
[http://www.infowars.com/infowars.asx]
[gcnlive.com]
Life Is A Game. Have Fun . Luke 18:17 - Isaiah 11:6
The Kenyan government has no much option because if they don't arrest the perpetrators other countries will. Whatever the opt for in the end the perpetrators will be arrested. http://www.kenya-by-kenyans.com
See all comments (4).
Active Discussions: Top Prosecutor Takes Kenya Case to Judges