By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch, Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya- Last week the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted a number of Africans from Uganda, Darfur, the DR Congo, and Kenya for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined under the Rome Statute. Among those arrested are six Kenyan officials with ties to the 2008 voting violence that affected over half a million Kenyans and Sudan’s president, Omar al Bashir. Bashir has been charged with ten counts, including five counts of crimes against humanity, two counts of war crimes and three counts of genocide. The six Kenyans indicted are all members of the ruling Grand Coalition and have been implicated in the post -election violence of 2008 that left over 1,100 dead, three times as many injured and over 600,000 displaced.
To date, international arrest warrants against Bashir have not been enforced despite travelling to other ICC member African nations and being barred from attending African Union summits. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says despite doing the legal work necessary to bring Bashir to justice, he continues to commit crimes in Darfur. In a statement, Moreno-Ocampo said, “The African Union and Arab League are crucial to stop the crimes, alleviate the humanitarian situation and provide stability to the Sudan.” Bashir is not currently in custody.
Among the Kenyans arrested are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Finance Minister Francis Muthaura, the Civil Service and Cabinet Chief and Industrialization Minister Henry Kosgey, currently suspended Higher Education Minister William Samoei Ruto, Head of Operations (KASS FM) Joshua Arap Sang, and former Police Commissioner and current Chief Executive of the Postal Corporation Mohamed Hussein Ali. The indictments against these officials stem from the violence in 2008 that lasted for over a month after their nation-wide election that many fear will be repeated after the upcoming 2012 elections. Said Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo, “These were not just crimes against innocent Kenyans[.] They were crimes against humanity as a whole. By breaking the cycle of impunity for massive crimes, victims and their families can have justice. And Kenyans can pave the way to peaceful elections in 2012.”
Kenyans who have come forward to act as witnesses against the ICC indicted are already being threatened and face being ostracized from their own communities. In Kenya, a country marked by strong tribal and ethnic divides that correlate to political loyalties, acting against one’s own group is viewed as a serious betrayal. However, many Kenyans wish to avoid the violence of 2008 and those willing will testify that political candidates and public officials spoke at rallies, urging Kenyans to violence as a means to meet their objectives. One young witness [name omitted] said he attended a rally where Samoei Ruto encouraged “[. . . ] the youth [to] prepare for violence, that the women should start crying in public to encourage the men to do violence.”
For more information, please see;
allAfrica.com- Kenya: ICC Has Indicted 17 Africans– 15 Dec., 2010
Afrique en Ligne- Kenya: ICC Strikes Heart of Kenya’s Grand Coalition Cabinet– 19 Dec., 2010
The Christian Science Monitor- Threat to Kenya’s ICC Witnesses: Traitors Will Be Dealt With ‘Ruthlessly’– 15 Dec., 2010
MSNBC.com- Prosecutor: Kenya’s Deputy PM is War Criminal– 15 Dec., 2010
M&C News- International Prosecutor Pushes For Arrest of al Bashir– 9 Dec., 2010
