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No changes to Kenya tribunal bill, says Kilonzo
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo (right) and Netherlands ambassador Laetitia van den Assum during celebrations to mark the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights sixth anniversary on July 29, 2009. He said he will table the draft tribunal bill before the Cabinet on Thursday without any changes. Photo/ PHOEBE OKALL
Posted Wednesday, July 29 2009 at 13:55
In Summary
- Justice minister says he will not accept to table a watered down version of the bill to Parliament.
- The bill goes before Cabinet a third time on Thursday.
Mr Kilonzo said it would be a mistake not to pass the bill, adding that to do so would surrender the country to the level of a failed state.
A Hague trial is regarded as bad for Kenya’s image because the country will be ranked alongside collapsed states such as Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo which do not have proper legal mechanisms or are not stable enough to try suspects at home.
Kenya was recently ranked 14th in the list of failed states by a US think tank, Fund for Peace, out of 20 countries considered to be critical in the “failed state” category.
The Justice minister said Kenya could top the list once the cases are taken over by the ICC.
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