Ocampo writes to judges over threats

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has written to judges at the pre-trial chamber at The Hague informing them of threats to witnesses who have crucial evidence against suspected masterminds of Kenya’s post-election violence.

At least six witnesses are being held in secret locations across the country following a campaign of intimidation and threats allegedly waged in the last few months.

The Sunday Nation first reported the threats issued against potential witnesses last October after four of the 21 witnesses who appeared at the judicial commission of inquiry into the post-election violence in Eldoret went underground fearing for their lives.

Several witnesses have now been formally taken in by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) which has been forced to devise a witness protection programme to shield the witnesses against harm.

The commission recently wrote to the ICC urging the pre-trial chamber to act fast to decide whether the Kenya case will go ahead so that the task of protecting witnesses shifts to the ICC.

“The KNCHR is concerned that any further delays on the part of the pre-trial chamber continues to create unwarranted anxiety on the part of the Kenyan people,” reads the letter signed by commission vice-chairman Hassan Omar.

“What is more worrying though are the continued acts of intimidation and harassment of witnesses. The audacity surrounding these acts of intimidation of witnesses is getting bolder and bolder.”

KNCHR warned the threats of elimination of a number of witnesses may mean “the Office of the Prosecutor will have nothing to investigate or no witnesses to interview once the prosecutor starts his investigations into the Kenyan situation.”

The Sunday Nation learnt that a top official at the ICC had forwarded the petition to the pre-trial chamber to inform them of the threats witnesses face.

Over 1,300 people were killed in the two months of chaos which followed the presidential election results. The commission of inquiry into post-election violence headed by Justice Philip Waki found that while some of the violence was spontaneous, most killings were financed by top officials and businessmen.

Justice Waki’s team forwarded a number of names of officials who were to be investigated by the ICC if Kenya failed to act on the perpetrators.

The findings of the Waki commission appear to have caught some ministers believed to be in the list of suspects off balance. This has led to a sustained campaign of intimidation against witnesses who testified to the commission of inquiry, according to multiple interviews with human rights officials and some witnesses.

Some of the witnesses blamed moles within the Waki commission for leaking their names despite their offering evidence in camera.

The Sunday Nation has also seen minutes of meetings held by key allies of a prominent Cabinet minister which call for witnesses who “betrayed” some leaders from their community to be eliminated.

The minutes are consistent with threats reported last week by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which interviewed a young man who is expected to testify in the proposed trials at The Hague.

Speaking to the Sunday Nation, Mr Omar said a speedy decision by the pre-trial chamber would help ensure the witnesses are adequately protected.
The pre-trial chamber of the ICC is the body which formally allows the prosecutor to act on individuals suspected of war crimes.

Mr Ocampo wrote to the president of the ICC on November 5 asking him to constitute a panel to consider the case of Kenya after the government consistently failed to pass a law setting up a special tribunal to try the suspects.

The judges – Ekaterina Trendafilova, Hans-Peter Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser – are scheduled to decide whether to give Mr Ocampo the nod to move in on Kenya.