Nairobi — The government has said that Kenya's post election violence witnesses have received threats.

Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo conceded Monday that witnesses to the chaos have not come forward to volunteer evidence as expected.

This, he said, will happen only after a witness protection program is set up to safeguard their safety.

He revealed that some witnesses are scared after receiving threats from quarters he refused to disclose.

"These witnesses have been threatened as they have evidence of what happened during the post elections violence.

"The evidence will lead to the prosecution of those involved," the minister said.

Mr Kilonzo was speaking during the official opening of a regional ministerial conference at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

This comes after the International Criminal Court prosecutor Mr Luis Moreno- Ocampo asked witnesses to volunteer evidence.

The violence victims and witnesses are expected to give their accounts to the ICC before Friday.

He intends to use the evidence to build his case before the Pre-Trial Chamber, which is to determine whether crimes committed after the 2007 General Election met the ICC threshold.

This is an effort to secure the permission of the three judges picked to assess Kenya's case to open investigations into the matter. The judges have the choice to accept or reject Mr Moreno-Ocampo's request.

During his visit to Kenya early this month, Mr Moreno-Ocampo promised that Kenya would provide an "example" for the world on how to prevent crimes.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have said Kenya would cooperate with the ICC, but have declined to refer the case to it, saying this would project the country as a failed state.

The two-day conference also attended by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) executive director, Mr Antonio Maria Costa was on promoting the rule of law and human security in East Africa.

The conference organised by the Kenyan Government and UNODC will focus on issues and threats affecting the region.The minister pointed out that the workshop is a forum to address the issues which include organised crime, money laundering and corruption.

Speaking after addressing the conference, the Justice minister challenged those alleging that Rwandan fugitive Mr Felicien Kabuga is being hosted in the country to explain his whereabouts.

He was reacting to allegations by the US government where they have maintained that the government is hiding the fugitive who is wanted for crimes against humanity.

Last week, US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Stephen J Rapp accused both the Kibaki and Moi governments of refusing to hand over the fugitive with a price on his head to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Mr Rapp told a press conference in Nairobi that the US came closer to arresting Mr Kabuga in 1997 but the efforts were thwarted by the government of the time.

The claims, Mr Kilonzo said, are disappointing as the government cannot host an international criminal who has committed crimes of a huge magnitude.

"If they know where he is, they should then tell us so that we can make the arrest," he said.