Rifts in Kenya Cabinet over violence suspects

The Kenyan Government was on Friday evening divided over the prospect of ministers and senior officials being tried by the International Criminal Court over the 2007 post-election violence. The differences come to the fore just as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who mediated the solution Kenya’s post-poll violence, flies in to meet with President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga over pending business on the reform process.

Mr Annan comes to Kenya in the wake of the stern warning delivered by US President Barack Obama, whose administration has threatened to impose sanctions on 15 top government officials unless they support the reform agenda.

Trailing Mr Annan to Kenya will be ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who is expected to jet in next week to discuss the way forward with the President and the Prime Minister after the government failed to meet the September 30 commitment to establish a special local tribunal to try masterminds of the violence.

Government support

Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo has in the past few days pledged the government’s support for the ICC process, even promising that any ministers and other figures indicted would be arrested and delivered to The Hague for trial.

Although President Kibaki stated in July that Kenya would abide by the ICC rules, the Cabinet has not, since it became clear that the September 30 deadline would not be met, formally sat and resolved to take into custody and hand over any minister or other person slapped with an ICC arrest warrant.

Mr Kilonzo, however, insists that a commitment to abide with the ICC rules automatically means a commitment to arrest any wanted persons. Talking to Saturday Nation on Friday, Roads minister Franklin Bett accused Mr Kilonzo of behaving like a wounded buffalo.

Revenge mission

He charged that the Justice minister was out on a “revenge mission” after the Cabinet threw out his proposal for a local tribunal that would have stripped the President of some of his powers. The Bill for a local tribunal had a provision removing the President’s immunity from prosecution while in office, and other provisions that diluted Executive authority over the trials as in the appointment of judges and prosecutors and granting of clemency.

Mr Bett, who is also the MP for Bureti, insisted that when the Cabinet threw out Mr Kilonzo’s special tribunal Bill, it settled on expansion of Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission so it could tackle cases arising out of the post-election violence. He added that Mr Kilonzo could also be bitter after his campaign for Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director Aaron Ringera came to nought with the latter’s resignation on Wednesday under public pressure.

His views were echoed by National Heritage minister William ole Ntimama, who said the Justice minister was seeking vengeance. He said Mr Kilonzo had betrayed a dictatorial trait. “He is bitter because Justice Ringera left. But this is what Kenyans felt. Ringera was not performing and all Kenyans voiced their concern. Why is the minister bitter because of a national decision?” he asked.

Arrests supported

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka also disagreed with the views of the Justice minister, an ODM Kenya colleague; but the arrest and handover of those indicted was supported by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Attorney-General Amos Wako. The two said in separate interviews with the Saturday Nation that Kenya had no choice but to cooperate with the ICC.

The development came as the European Union joined the US in demanding that the government speeds up reforms in the country. Through Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, the 47 nations asked the government to fully cooperate with the ICC in dealing with the post-election violence suspects.

Mr Odinga told the Saturday Nation through his spokesman Dennis Onyango that Kenya was a signatory to the ICC Statute and therefore had the obligation to comply with demands and requests from the ICC. “As a member of a club, you must play by the rules of the club. We will cooperate with the ICC. You can’t run away if you are a member,” he said.

In a separate interview, Mr Wako said that the government was now awaiting the formal ICC request for assistance. “The International Crimes Act delegates this responsibility to the Attorney General and the Internal Security minister (Prof George Saitoti). We therefore have a mandate and a duty to use our best endeavour to ensure that any request from the ICC is honoured”.

The Saturday Nation could not reach Prof Saitoti, whose docket includes the police force that would have to effect any arrest warrants. However, Mr Musyoka was not too enthusiastic about the pledge to arrest suspects. His spokesman Kaplich Barsito explained that the Justice minister was giving his own views, “that are not necessarily shared by the VP.

The VP’s position is known and has not changed. He has always supported a local mechanism to achieve justice for victims of violence”. The VP wants a system that will ensure healing, reconciliation and unity of the country, his aide said. According to Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, the Cabinet has yet to decide on the fate of the post-election violence suspects.

Joint Government Parliamentary Whip George Thuo told the Saturday Nation that the House had already decided that The Hague takes over when it rejected a local tribunal. Cherengany MP Joshua Kutuny criticised the Justice minister, calling him “confused and bitter”. His Konoin counterpart Julius Kones, however, welcomed ICC prosecutor to Kenya saying he should be left to conduct investigations without interference.