Bid to defer cases at The Hague not meant to protect suspects, says VP

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka on Saturday defended his quest to seek the support of the international community in establishing a local tribunal to try the masterminds of the post-election violence.

The VP said the country’s bid to defer the ICC cases against six suspects was not meant to deny the victims of violence justice, but rather to promote trust in the country’s justice system.

He added that a local judicial mechanism would go hand in hand with the resettlement of internally displaced persons as well as disbursement of compensation for losses incurred.

Mr Musyoka said the Kenyan judicial system was capable of trying the perpetrators and could do a better job than the ICC, especially as it is undergoing reform.

“The investigations which were done by the ICC are not good enough to implicate the six. But if a local tribunal can be formed, it can dig dipper and establish the real suspects who are on in the ICC list,” Mr Musyoka said.

He spoke at the African Inland Church (AIC) Kijabe Mission Hospital on Saturday during the launch of Friends of Kijabe Association.

He was accompanied by MPs David Njuguna (Lari), Johnstone Muthama (Kangundo), John Mututho (Naivasha), Peter Mwathi (Limuru) Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town) and Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa).

Garner support

Last month, Mr Musyoka visited different countries in Africa to garner support from the African Union to defer the Kenya case at The Hague.

And during the function, the MPs present defended Mr Musyoka’s shuttle diplomacy across the continent, questioning why some countries were opposed to a deferral of the Kenya case yet they were not members of the ICC.

“The VP is a true patriot. He is not defending suspects of post-election but he wants to ensure justice for all and sovereignty of the nation,” said Mr Mwathi.

Mr Muthama supported calls for a deferral of the ICC cases, saying prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo may not have been exhaustive in his investigations.

Mr Mututho added that “the ICC was being used by some politicians who were out to ruin the political careers of some of the strong leaders whose names were mentioned by Ocampo.”

Last year, Mr Ocampo named Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, suspended Industrialization minister Henry Kosgey, former Higher Education minister William Ruto, former police chief Mohammed Ali, Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura and radio presenter Joseph Sang as bearing the greatest responsibility for the country’s post-election violence.

Additional reporting by VPPS