Victory for ministers in Waki envelope

• MPs agree to fast-track the Bill establishing the tribunal to beat the Friday deadline.
• They will hold another meeting on Wednesday to confirm that their proposals have been incorporated; Bill to be tabled later in the afternoon.
• Those indicted will be placed under police custody during the entire period of trial.

Cabinet ministers and government officials accused of crimes against humanity by the Waki commission will stay in office, after all.

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They will only be required to step aside after investigations have confirmed that they have a case to answer, according to a deal struck by Members of Parliament on Tuesday.

Under normal circumstances, those suspected of wrongdoing are required to leave office so as not to interfere with investigations. The Waki envelope contains names of six ministers and five MPs, among others.

The MPs agreed to a clause in the draft Bill, which imposes strict secrecy on the names of suspects during the investigative period.

Directly involved

The Bill states in Article 26 (6): “The names of persons under investigations shall not be made public or otherwise disclosed to persons other than those directly involved in the investigations before the indictment has been made.”

The meeting, dubbed the Speaker’s Kamukunji, was called to arrive at a consensus before the Bill establishing the Special Tribunal for Kenya is taken to the House.

The tribunal is one of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence chaired by appellate judge Philip Waki.

The report of the commission had required politicians and holders of public office whose names are contained in the secret list handed over to Chief Mediator Kofi Annan to leave office until their innocence is confirmed.

On Tuesday, MPs agreed to fast-track the Bill establishing the tribunal to beat the Friday deadline.

The Waki commission has a timetable that allows Mr Annan to forward the list of suspects to the International Court of Justice if Kenya fails to act or interferes with the work of the proposed tribunal.

MPs also proposed various amendments to the draft Bill and will hold another meeting on Wednesday to confirm that their proposals have been incorporated. The Bill will be tabled later in the afternoon.

The meeting was closed to the media, but those who attended said MPs came determined to fight the clause requiring suspects to resign. The sources said MPs were disarmed when they discovered that the clause had already been deleted.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga attended the meeting at the Old Chambers of Parliament.

Been indicted