ICC exposes Kenyan MPs’ hypocrisy

The majority of Kenyan MPs are hypocrites. They have now come out in their true colours in defence of people suspected of committing very serious crimes against the people of Kenya. The manner in which Kenyan MPs reacted to the ICC’s exposure of the six suspected criminals, who are about to be accused of leading this country to the orgy of murder, rape and bloodbath, proves that most of them are hypocritical pretenders who specialize in cheating the voters of this country.

When talking to the voters of Kenya, the MPs openly cheat by claiming that all they want is to make sure justice will be done to hundreds of thousands of innocent wananchi whose homes were burnt down by organized hooligans in the payroll of shadowy evil political schemers who were out to spread ethnic hatred among the people. While addressing voters at public rallies the MPs swear to leave no stone unturned until the blood of 1,300 Kenyans who perished after the post 2007 election violence is paid for through true justice at The Hague.

They call for justice at The Hague because they have lost confidence in the Judiciary in Kenya. That is why they have twice rejected moves to establish an independent local tribunal to try PEV perpetrators. While doing so they shouted loudly “Don’t be vague, just support the Hague option”.

Now that Luis Moreno-Ocampo has named six suspects whom he is planning to prosecute for planning and financing the PEV, the MPs have changed their minds and now they are determined to save the people named and accuse Moreno-Ocampo of politicizing the entire ICC legal system. They shamelessly accuse Moreno-Ocampo of being in Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s pocket and removing from the Kenyan political contest possible opponents who are likely to oppose the Prime Minister in the 2012 presidential elections

Fortunately the people of Kenya can see through this myopic propaganda which is only meant to defeat all international efforts to make sure that justice is not only done for the poor people of Kenya , but it is actually seen to be done at the world’s most respected International Criminal Court. The people Moreno-Ocampo has named are political giants who will always be the most protected sacred cows of Kenyan politics. As far as the Kenyan laws are concerned the named people can do no wrong and that is why they are now calling for the establishment of a local tribunal to try them.

The accusations that the ICC chief prosecutor has politicized the legal system at The Hague is itself a political plot to protect people who are about to be charged with very serious crimes. Moreno-Ocampo did not just announce the names of the people he suspects to have planned and financed the PEV; he actually elaborated in details the nature of those crimes.

According to the ICC Press Release on the Kenyan case the post election period of 2007-2008 was one of the most violent periods of the nation’s history. The release said the post election attacks left more than 1, 100 people dead, 3,500 injured and up to 600, 000 forcibly displaced. It says during 60 days of violence, there were hundreds of rapes, possibly more, and over 100, 000 properties were destroyed in six of Kenya’s eight provinces.

“These were not just crimes against innocent Kenyans”, said Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo. “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.”

The release says the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber II will now review the evidence. If they determine that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the six persons named committed the alleged crimes, they will decide on the most appropriate way to ensure their appearance in Court. The Prosecution has requested Summonses to Appear.

According to the majority of the people of Kenya these are the right steps to be taken to make sure that justice is seen to be done. In a public opinion research conducted by the respected Ifrotrak Research and Consulting, which is a member of Harris Interactive Global Network, slightly more than half of Kenyans reported their satisfaction with the ICC list. The results of the polls showed that 55 % of the people in the rural areas, which are the majority of Kenyans, are satisfied with the Moreno-Ocampo list. Whereas 47% of those in urban areas were satisfied with the list, only 39 % of those in urban areas were not satisfied with the list.

Kenyans know that Moreno-Ocampo has no political axe to grind in this country. According to the respected prosecutor William Samoei Ruto and Henry Kiprono Kosgey who are prominent leaders of the ODM began as early as December 2006, preparing a criminal plan to attack those identified as supporters of the Party of National Unity (“PNU”). He says Joshua arap Sang, whom he describes as a prominent ODM supporter, was a crucial part of the plan, using his radio program to collect supporters and provide signals to members of the plan on when and where to attack.

Moreno-Ocampo says to reach their goal, Ruto, Kosgey and Sang coordinated a series of actors and institutions to establish a network, using it to implement an organizational policy to commit crimes. Their two goals were: to gain power in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya (“Rift Valley”), and ultimately in the Republic of Kenya, and to punish and expel from the Rift Valley those perceived to support the PNU (collectively referred to as “PNU supporters”).

He explains that Kenyans voted in the presidential election on 27 December 2007. On 30th December 2007, the Electoral Commission of Kenya declared that Mwai Kibaki, presidential candidate for the PNU, had won the election. The announcement triggered one of the most violent periods in Kenya’s history. Moreno-Ocampo says the Prosecution will present some of the incidents, identifying those who were most responsible.

He says thousands of members of the network (“perpetrators”) cultivated by Ruto,
Kosgey and Sang began to execute their plan by attacking PNU supporters immediately after the announcement of the presidential election results on 30 December 2007. On December 30 and 31, 2007, they began attacks in target locations including Turbo town, the greater Eldoret area (Huruma, Kimumu, Langas, and Yamumbi), Kapsabet town, and Nandi Hills town. They approached each location from all directions, burning down PNU supporters’ homes and businesses, killing civilians, and systematically driving them from their homes. On January 1, 2008, the church located on the Kiambaa farm cooperative was attacked and burned with more than one hundred people inside. At least 17 people died. The brunt of the attacks continued into the first week of January 2008.

According to the MPs who are opposing Moreno-Ocampo’s prosecution all this is political propaganda to make sure Raila Odinga becomes the next President without being opposed by William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta. The MPs forget that the people of Kenya know the story too well. What they didn’t know was who planned the shocking atrocities. Moreno-Ocampo says he knows and he is doing something about it. That is why he has the support of the majority of Kenyans.

About Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura and General Hussein Ali, Moreno-Ocampo also makes a number of accusations. He says in response to Ruto, Kosgey and Sang’s planned attacks on PNU supporters, as well as to deal with protests organized by the ODM, prominent PNU and the three developed and executed a plan to attack perceived ODM supporters in order to keep the PNU in power.

Moreno-Ocampo says under the authority of the National Security Advisory Committee, of which Muthaura and Ali were Chairman and a member, respectively, the Kenya
Police, in joint operations with the Administration Police (“Kenyan Police Forces”), were deployed into ODM strongholds where they used excessive force against civilian protesters in Kisumu (Kisumu District, Nyanza Province) and in Kibera
(Kibera Division, Nairobi Province).

As a consequence, according to Moreno-Ocampo, between the end of December
2007 and the middle of January 2008, the Kenyan Police Forces indiscriminately shot at and killed more than a hundred ODM supporters in Kisumu and Kibera. He says the three also developed a different tactic to retaliate against the attacks on PNU supporters. On or about 3 January 2008, Kenyatta, as the focal point between the PNU and the Mungiki criminal organization, facilitated a meeting with Muthaura , a senior Government of Kenya official, and Mungiki leaders to organize retaliatory attacks against civilian supporters of the ODM.

Thereafter, according to Moreno-Ocampo, Muthaura, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Security Advisory Committee, telephoned Ali, his subordinate as head of the Kenya Police, and instructed Ali not to interfere with the Mungiki. Kenyatta additionally instructed the Mungiki leaders to attend a second meeting on the same day to finalize logistical and financial arrangements for the retaliatory attacks.

All these are very serious accusations against the six suspects. The only way they can convince Kenyans they did not do what Moreno-Ocampo is accusing them of is to go to The Hague and defend themselves. No amount of noise made by Kenyan MPs will make the wananchi change their minds about the strong belief they have that justice on these crucial matters concerning their country can only come from the Hague.