Ocampo's 50-hour Kenyan swoop

The International Criminal Court prosecutor, Louis Moreno Ocampo, left Kenyans with a clear message – that The Hague process had officially begun. During his three-day visit, the ICC prosecutor ensured that the government understood what was to happen next as the ICC president in The Hague had appointed a three-judge bench to determine the fate of masterminds of the post-election violence.

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From touching down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday to his departure on Saturday at 9 a.m., Mr Moreno Ocampo demonstrated how swiftly the ICC was ready to deal with the Kenyan situation. He was spirited to the Windsor Hotel where he had breakfast. He then he met Kenyan authorities, including President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Harambee House.

The two principals declined to make a government self-referral to the ICC and left it to the prosecutor to use his other option – the pre-trial chamber. Mr Moreno Ocampo was then whisked to State House for lunch after which he retreated to his hotel where he is believed to have contacted Judge Sang-Hyun Song, the court’s president.

While he was touring the Nairobi National Park and meeting diplomats at the United Nations complex on Friday, Mr Sang-Hyun appointed a three-judge bench that will consider his request. And at the 7.30 a.m. press conference on Saturday, Mr Moreno Ocampo underscored the urgency with which the ICC was acting on the Kenyan case.

The prosecutor indicated that should the judges authorise the opening of the investigation, he will ensure that this “proceeds expeditiously”. This decision, the Sunday Nation later learnt, is likely to come in as early as the second week of December since the ICC breaks for its winter recess on December 12.

“Everyone is worried of the next election in Kenya. I understand the importance of speed, and I am working to be sure that during 2010 we will be able to complete the investigations and to define who the accused are, they have to face justice and you can have a peaceful election,” Mr Moreno Ocampo said.

According to ICC procedures, Mr Moreno Ocampo’s request to the pre-trial chamber has to be determined within 30 days. The judges dealing with the Kenya situation are Hans-Peter Kaul, who is also the ICC second vice-president, Cuno Tarfusser and Ekaterina Trendafilova. The move to constitute the chamber signified that ICC was ready to move swiftly, coming only a day after the government declined to formally refer the case to the ICC over last year’s post-election violence.

In another strong indicator that the ICC wants to speed up the process was given by Mr Moreno Ocampo who said that “two or three cases” would come up for trial with the next “four to six months”. Calculation shows that the Kenyan trials could start by July next year.

In their determination, ICC judges will either grant him the authority to start investigations in Kenya, reject his request or ask him for more information. A statement from The Hague said Mr Moreno Ocampo had on Thursday – the same day he met the Kenya authorities – written to Judge Sang-Hyun informing him of his intention to request authority to launch investigations in Kenya.

“The (ICC) presidency had received from the prosecutor a letter, dated 5 November, 2009, indicating his intention to submit a request for the authorisation of an investigation into that situation considering that “there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into the situation in the Republic of Kenya in relation to the post-election violence of 2007-2008”,” the statement read in part.

On Thursday, Mr Moreno Ocampo flew to Nairobi to meet President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga and informed them of what he planned to do next about the Kenyan situation. Before leaving for South Africa on Saturday, he said the two principals had promised to cooperate with the ICC, which he added would be the greatest democratic test for the coalition government.

Intentions clear

At an early morning press conference, Mr Moreno Ocampo made his intentions clear, indicating that he was determined “to present two or three cases against those persons considered the most responsible” to the ICC. The swiftness with which the ICC is acting is likely to raise political temperatures in the country due to some earlier misconceived notion that The Hague process is slow.

The first indictment can be expected in early 2010 with Mr Moreno Ocampo indicating that the full-scale trials are likely to begin in the next “three to six months”. There have been divisions over whether the country should try the suspects in a local tribunal or refer them to The Hague.

Those pushing for the local tribunal have been arguing that the ICC would take long and would not deal with a large number of the suspects. But Mr Moreno Ocampo seemed to indicate that this notion is incorrect, indicating that the ICC has enough information on Kenya for the swiftest action possible.