ICC can probe Kenya chaos, says Kilonzo

• State was ready to cooperate with Mr Moreno-Ocampo and give him necessary support to do his work.
• Justice minister: Kenya will not seek deadline extension to create a local tribunal.

The International Criminal Court is free to investigate, arrest and try the 2007 post-election violence suspects.

Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo said chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo did not require government’s invitation to come to Kenya and analyse the situation.

"This is because Kenya is a signatory to the Rome Statute. You don’t require an invitation to visit your home," Mr Kilonzo said in response to reports that Mr Moreno-Ocampo was awaiting the government’s call to come to Kenya.

He added that it is Internal Security minister George Saitoti and not him who should invite Mr Moreno-Ocampo to the country if there was need.

The minister was addressing journalists after officially launching the Legal Aid Awareness week at the Nairobi Law Courts on Tuesday.

He said the State was ready to cooperate with Mr Moreno-Ocampo and give him necessary support to do his work.

The Mbooni MP restated that the government had failed in its efforts to establish a local judicial mechanism to try organisers, financiers and all those involved in the chaos that left at least 1,300 people dead and 600,000 uprooted from their homes.

As a result, he said, he will write or inform Mr Moreno-Ocampo on phone next week that the government could not meet its September 30 deadline and that the ICC was free to take up the matter.

"The country must come to terms that calls for Hague is now real. We will not ask for more time for creation of local tribunal. We want to move forward, we have a lot of other work to do," the minister said.

He added: "I will tell Moreno-Ocampo, sorry, we cannot produce a local tribunal by September 30."

He said since domestication of Rome Statute was signed to start on January 1, 2009, international crime which occurred last year cannot be tried locally.

Mr Kilonzo promised to table proposals for radical judicial reforms in Cabinet that will see more judges recruited and the Judicial Service Commission expanded.

He, however, said the changes could still not meet international standards required to try post election violence.

However, he said, following domestication of Rome Statute the ICC can sit anywhere in the country but can only deal with genocide, crimes against humanity and aggression and not incidents like rape and murder.

The minister punched holes into fresh bill being spearheaded by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara for the formation of a local tribunal to deal with post election chaos.

Mr Imanyara’s Bill, he said, does not protect the tribunal from interference from the Attorney General’s office and other quarters.

"It does not meet international standards," the minister said.

Mr Kilonzo hailed Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s statement that the ICC wants to use Kenya as an example of how to end impunity and prevent future crimes.