I blame Kenyan leaders for mayhem

Mr Bernard Orinda Ndege with his new wife Alice Okoth and Baby Mary Akinyi at his home in Rachuonyo on Thursday. Mr Ndege lost 11 family members in post-poll chaos in Naivasha. Photo/JACOB OWITI

He lost 11 members of his family in the post-poll violence and the arrival of the ICC prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno- Ocampo, has brought him new hope that justice will be done.

Mr Bernard Orinda Ndege lost two wives and nine children who were burnt alive in the orgy of violence that hit Naivash in revenge attacks that followed the mayhem in the Rift Valley over the disputed Presidential election results.

And although the grass has grown on their graves and his new marriage has brought forth a baby girl, he is still a bitter man, almost two years down the line.

To testify

He is even willing to travel to the ICC to testify should he be called upon to do so. But he says that if he had his way, Mr Ocampo should have talked to him and not the President or the Prime Minister. “I want the ICC to arrest the leaders; I am more than willing to testify. But I would also like to look at the leaders who instigated the violence in the eye and ask them questions,” he said.

He continued: “I want the suspects to tell me why they killed my whole family. I want the whole world to see the people who took our country backwards after the elections.” Mr Orinda said the intervention of the ICC was a welcome move. This is the only way the victims can get reprieve from the culture of impunity that has taken over the local courts.

“Robert Ouko was a minister, he was killed and the state convicted nobody. Odhiambo Mbai was a leading scholar, he was killed. To date, nobody has faced justice. Now me a poor Kenyan, how can I be sure that I will get the elusive justice?” Dr Ouko was Kenya’s Foreign minister when he was murdered and his body found dumped at the foot of Got Alila in Kisumu.

Mr Mbai, a University of Nairobi lecturer, was a member of the constitutional conference at the Bomas of Kenya some four years ago, and was murdered in his house on Ngong Road, Nairobi, even before the drafting of the document was over and Kenyans went to a referendum.

Mr Ocampo’s failure to meet the victims, he says, would not go well with him. He reasons that the victims of the violence would like to testify on how far irresponsible leadership can affect the lives of Kenyans. He says that the charging of the perpetrators at the ICC would act as a deterrent to those who intend to whip up ethnic sentiments in their bid to hide behind their communities for selfish gain.

“I stayed in Naivasha for 30 years and at no time did I feel like I did not belong there until the politician’s stirred emotions. Tough action will not only be a deterrent, but a first step to building a tribeless country,” Mr Orinda said. He maintains that most of the people affected by the violence suffered because of lack of leadership and the failure to respect democratic structures.

“I was innocent; I am not learned so I was not in contention for any job. I voted because I am over 18 and the law allows it. That’s all. I did not contest any seat. I sat waiting for the outcome of the results, but what I got was the killing of my family and anguish that has trailed me all along.

Mr Orinda says other than trying the suspects, there should be complete overhaul of the law, saying that the current constitution also left loopholes that were exploited by the politicians, most of who, he says, will go scot-free. Despite having lost his family in the inter-tribal animosity, he maintains that the average Kenyan is good; the Kenyan leaders are the problem.