Panic as Kenya poll chaos case handed to ICC

• The Kenya delegation left for Geneva, Switzerland on June 30 on a mission to convince chief mediator Kofi Annan to give the government more time to form a local tribunal.
• President Kibaki and PM Odinga favour local solution, but most MPs are opposed to the idea saying that the trial could be manipulated by politicians.

Said Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo: “This is a trip with a specific mission which we have to accomplish. It has to do with the tribunal, but I cannot reveal the details now.”

“The consultative meeting is also meant to explore ways of tackling impunity once and for all. The post-election violence was just a tip of the iceberg. We also have to deal decisively with impunity that has been prevalent throughout post-independent Kenya.”

In a statement from Geneva Mr Annan said: "Justice delayed is justice denied.  The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy." 

He added that The Panel "reaffirms its conviction that combating impunity and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the post-election violence in Kenya is fundamental for the country’s reform agenda." 

Mr Annan also "welcomed the Government of Kenya's renewed efforts to implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission and to establish a Special Tribunal," but added that "any judicial mechanism adopted to bring the perpetrators of the post-election violence to justice must meet international legal standards and be broadly debated with all sectors of the Kenyan society in order to bring credibility to the process."

Mr Annan and the other members of the Panel Mr Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, and Mrs Graça Machel of Mozambique, reiterated their firm commitment to support efforts to implement the comprehensive reform programme under the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation process.   

The ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said on Thursday that he had received the sealed envelope after "all the actors involved in ensuring accountability for post-election violence in Kenya agreed on the need to move the process forward now to prevent the recurrence of such events."

He added: "The transmission of the documents to Mr Kofi Annan forms part of these collaborative efforts to ensure that justice is not delayed and that future crimes can be prevented."

Opinion has been sharply divided among Kenya leaders on which way would be best to try the suspects: A local tribunal or the ICC route.

Both President Kibaki and PM Odinga favour the local solution, but most MPs are opposed to the idea saying that the trial could be manipulated by politicians.

Local tribunal

Attempts to form a local tribunal were thwarted after MPs defeated a motion in Parliament meant to pave way for a Special Tribunal in March this year.

At least 1,000 people were killed while 350,000 others were rendered homeless in the violence that was sparked by a disputed presidential election in 2007.

Mr Odinga, then the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) presidential candidate, claimed he had been rigged out of victory by the Party of National Unity and its candidate President Kibaki.

Mr Annan brokered a peace deal that brought together the two antagonists on a power-sharing agreement under the Grand Coalition Government.