ODM rejects Waki Report

The Orange Democratic Movement has rejected the findings of the Waki Report on post-election violence in their entirety.

The party also said they would resist any attempts to charge any of the suspects named in a secret list, handed to Chief Mediator Kofi Annan, outside the country.

Seventy five MPs among them Prime Minister Raila Odinga and 11 Cabinet ministers emerged from a four-hour stormy meeting to say that the report contained incurable errors and contradicted the Constitution.

In a strongly worded statement delivered at Parliament Buildings, ODM said: “ODM has resolved to reject the Waki report in toto.”

The party said the Waki report contained fundamental flaws and that the commission overstepped its mandate.

The party said it had been persuaded by the substantive advice of its legal team of experts which “found inherently incurable errors and fundamental constitutions contradictions in considerable sections of the Waki report.”

ODM’s decision came on a day that Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka also called for the shelving of the report.  

The Waki Commission gave the Government 60 days to form a special tribunal to try the suspects in the secret list or else their names will be forwarded to the International Court of Justice (ICC).

But ODM said they would shield any of their members whose name is in the secret list saying Kenya’s institutions had not collapsed to warrant such a trial and neither had the Government failed to investigate the suspects.

“ODM being part of the Grand Coalition Government will resist and stop any “rendition” or surrender of Kenya’s citizens to a tribunal outside its territory as the national jurisdiction and/or national systems have not collapsed and it is not evident that Kenya is unwilling or unable to carry out investigations or prosecutions in our courts.”

The party said without evidence of a breakdown of judicial systems in Kenya the report had blatantly overlooked the principle of complimentarily which underpins the International Criminal Court.

Thursday’s decision by ODM came on the backdrop of differences between those who wanted the report implemented in full and those who opposed it.

Mr Odinga, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Lands Minister James Orengo had called for the full implementation of the report.

However, Cabinet ministers William Ruto led his colleagues William ole Ntimama, Henry Kosgey and Fred Gumo in rejecting the report.

The decision appears to be a slap in the face of Mr Odinga who has in the past insisted that the report will be implemented in full.

The statement was read by ODM Parliamentary Group secretary Ababu Namwamba who was flanked by Mr Odinga, Mr Mudavadi, Mr Ruto, Mr Orengo, Mr Kosgey and Mr Gumo.

Others ministers present included: Charity Ngilu, Wycliffe Oparanya, Paul Otuoma, Chris Obure, Hellen Sambili and Dalmas Otieno.