ICC Approves Probe Of
Kenya Violence
The
International Criminal Court in The Hague has approved an
investigation into violent clashes that trailed Kenya's 2007
presidential election.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday that the
court had approved the request he submitted last November.
The Court's decision has opened the way for the Prosecutor to
take the likely next step of indictments against politicians,
some of whom are members of the cabinet in the power-sharing
government of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila
Odinga.
He said that Kenyan political leaders organised and financed
attacks on civilians and cited figures from Kenyan authorities
that 1,220 people were killed, hundreds raped and more
than 350,000 forcefully displaced in ethnic clashes that
broke out after the hotly disputed election.
He has submitted a confidential list of 20 names of those
‘who appear to bear the gravest responsibility’.
Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement: ’’The ICC will do its part
but the Kenyans will be in the lead. There would be no impunity
for those most responsible.’’
Reactions
Omar Hassan, vice chairman of the Kenya National Commission on
Human Rights, says of the decision: ’’It's a very important
statement in terms of fighting impunity in Kenya.’’
AU Panel of Eminent Personalities chairman and former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also welcomed the decision to
fully probe the election violence.
In a statement, Annan said: ’’I salute the decision taken by
the Pre-Trial Chamber II to grant the request by Mr. Luis
Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), to commence an investigation on crimes against humanity
allegedly committed in Kenya.’’
’’This is an important day for justice in Kenya. Justice for
the victims suddenly looks brighter. I urge all concerned to
fully cooperate with the ICC,’’ he said.
Deeply flawed polls
Kenya's presidential and parliamentary elections on December 27,
2007, judged by international observers as deeply flawed,
sparked a wave of communal violence.
The clashes shattered Kenya's image as a stable centre for trade
and tourism and the economic powerhouse of east Africa.
In a suit earlier this month, Moreno-Ocampo said senior
political and business leaders from Prime Minister Raila
Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and President Mwai
Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) were ‘guided by political
objectives to retain or gain power’.
In Wednesday's statement, Moreno-Ocampo said Kibaki and Odinga's
‘commitment to justice' and cooperation was crucial.
’’People will no longer do things knowing something will
happen to them, no matter how long it takes.’’
The ICC and its decision
The International Criminal Court, established in 2002, is the
world's first permanent court set up to try individuals for
genocide, war crimes and other major human rights violations.
Kenya is one of the 111 states that ratified the Rome
Statute establishing the court.
Two of the three pre-trial judges approved the investigation,
but German Hans-Peter Kaul dissented, saying the crimes
committed in Kenya could not be considered crimes against
humanity.
NAN/Yinka
