By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya – Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the international Criminal Court (ICC) announced that he would bring two to three post-election violence cases to trial by next July.
Ocampo has said that he has a “strong case” against some for crimes committed during the 2007 post-election violence. He believes speed is of utmost importance so Kenya does not experience the same type of violence during its next election in 2012.
“Everyone is worried about the next election in Kenya in 2012. That is why I understand the importance of speed,” Ocampo said. “I’ll go to the communities. I”ll see the victims, listen to them. I have to collect the evidence. Then I’ll present my case. Then the names will be known. In the meantime, my duty is to make criminal records ready- who gave orders to kill. That’s it.”
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga met with Ocampo and he told them that he would be asking the ICC’s pretrial judges for permission to launch an investigation in December.
In October, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, acting as crisis mediator, warned that there was a serious risk of violence at the next presidential election if the killings were not prosecuted.
Today, Prime Minister Odinga said that he would surrender to the ICC if Ocampo built a strong case linking him to the violence.
“I will not wait to be arrested. I will volunteer information,” he said.
Ocampo made the decision to proceed unilaterally because the Kenyan government decided not to refer the case to the ICC.
“President Kibaki and I agreed that the prosecutor should proceed with his work and Kenya would cooperate. We also didn’t want to show that our judicial system had failed,” said Odinga. That’s why Kenya did not make a formal referral of the case to the ICC.
Odinga also said that the Kenyan government would fully cooperate with Prosecutor Ocampo.
“President Kibaki and I agreed that the prosecutor should proceed with his work and Kenya would cooperate. We also didn’t want to show that our judicial system had failed,” said Odinga. That’s why Kenya did not make a formal referral of the case to the ICC.
The current Kenyan government operates as a power-sharing entity between the Prime Minister and the President. Both President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have agreed to cooperate with any trials, although they remain committed to “local judicial mechanisms.”
“My mandate is to end impunity of the most serious crimes,” says Ocampo. “I will do that.”
For more information, please see:
Daily Nation – Raila Assures ICC of Kenya’s Support – 08 November 2009
Al Jazeera – Ocampo to Request Kenya Trials – 07 November 2009
BBC – ICC Seeking Speedy Kenya Trials – 07 November 2009
Reuters India – ICC’s Ocampo Says Has Strong Case in Kenya – 07 November 2009
