WAKI LIST OUT

• Ocampo opens and reseals envelope as rights watchdog links ministers to chaos

Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Friday held a special meeting with senior International Criminal Court officers to discuss the evidence presented to him by chief mediator Kofi Annan.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo had earlier in the day opened, inspected and resealed the envelope containing names of suspected sponsors of the post-election violence handed over to him by Mr Annan.

He said the contents would remain confidential. “There will be no leaks,” he said.

In addition to the envelope, Mr Moreno-Ocampo received six boxes containing documents and supporting materials compiled by the Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence, locally known as the Waki Commission.

The boxes were stored in a vault at the court’s investigations unit.

The commission provided the names of a number of individuals and why they should be investigated.

Asked whether a report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights was part of the evidence received on Friday, the prosecutor’s office was non-committal, only confirming that they had reviewed a range of different reports and statements including “public reports authored by Kenyans and international organisations as well as communications sent to the court.”

As part of its preliminary investigations, Mr Moreno-Ocampo says he has contacted various parties in Kenya seeking further information in relation to alleged crimes.

“I have to say that much information is available,” he said.

The officials said he will continue with his own investigations to “reach an impartial conclusion as to whether or not to investigate those individuals or others, or none.”

Receiving the materials, Mr Moreno-Ocampo expressed his determination to handle the Kenyan case because it was the “only way to prevent the commission of new crimes in the next elections.”

He, however, stressed that the main responsibility lies with the Kenyan government.

Sources at The Hague who did not want to be quoted commenting on the case, revealed that Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s deputy, Gambian Ms Fatou Bensouda, will lead the onslaught on the Kenyan situation. She will work closely with Mr Michel de Smedt, acting head of investigations at the court.

A team of investigators and lawyers had already started work, reviewing reports and evidence offered by various Kenyans groups.

Ms Bensouda, a former attorney-general and Justice minister in her country, joined the ICC after a stint at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda where she was a legal adviser and trial attorney.

Because of her background and experience, Ms Bensouda is reputed to be an “expert on African justice systems who understands sensitivities arising from trials involving victims from the continent.”

Ms Bensouda, is the lead prosecutor in the trial of Democratic Republic of Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga, who faces war crimes-related charges at The Hague.

The Gambian, known for her bare-knuckle tactics in court, recently warned that leaders “everywhere in the world should know that impunity is a thing of the past. It is gone!”