Ruto defiant on local tribunal

• Minister differs with Kibaki and PM who vowed to push for formation of court

Agriculture minister William Ruto on Sunday defied President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on the local tribunal to try poll chaos suspects.

Parliament will once again reject the Bills on the special court, said the minister, adding that those behind their reintroduction were diverting Kenyans from the real causes of the violence.

He was supported by MPs David Were (Matungu) and Benjamin Lagat (Ainamoi), who argued that the formation of a local tribunal would trigger unnecessary public tension and reverse the gains of reconciliation.

The leaders spoke on Sunday during a funds drive in aid of Nanderema Girls Secondary School.

“All Kenyans know the real issues behind the post-election violence, which are poverty, hunger and unemployment. We must address them comprehensively,” he said.

Beneficiaries

The minister said beneficiaries of violence were in office with big vehicles yet the government wants to jail “small men” who fought for them.

Mr Ruto’s remarks were in sharp contrast to pronouncements by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga who met last week and agreed to rally MPs to support the Bills.

They have instructed Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo to quickly reintroduce the two Bills in Parliament to beat the August deadline set by chief mediator Kofi Annan.

Mr Annan said if the tribunal is not set up by that time he will hand over the secret envelope containing names of suspects to the International Criminal Court.

In Malindi, Mr Odinga said the coalition government was determined to push through the reform agenda.

“The coalition was formed out of peculiar circumstances but it stood the test of time and I can promise you that it will survive and deliver the pledges it had made” he said.

He reiterated that all the coalition parties were operating in tandem towards the realisation of the common goal of implementing sound reforms.