Kenyans want Ocampo Six tried in Hague
What you need to know:
- Verdict disapproves MPs’ endorsement of motion to have the country pull out of the international court
Six out of ten Kenyans want the trial of the six suspected masterminds of post-election violence by the International Criminal Court to go on uninterrupted, according to a new poll.
The verdict by 60 per cent of respondents is a disapproval of Parliament’s passage of a motion by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto to pull Kenya out of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC.
The Synovate poll is also unanimous that the ICC suspects as well as others not in the list should face justice.
The poll shows that a fairly large proportion of Kenyans (73 per cent) are optimistic that trial of suspects named by ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will take place.
Forty-one per cent of Kenyans are certain of the eventual prosecution and conviction of the named ICC suspects, said Tom Wolf Synovate’s head of research when he released the survey results, on Friday.
North Eastern (51 per cent) and Nyanza (50 per cent) led the way in returning a “highly likely/certain” response when they were asked their perception on the likelihood that Mr Moreno-Ocampo will prosecute the suspects.
However, about two in every ten Kenyans said it was “very unlikely” the six will be prosecuted.
The survey that was carried out between December 17 and 23 polled 2,011 respondents called on their mobile phone lines, a technique called Computer Assisted Telephonic Interview.
The six named by Mr Moreno-Ocampo are Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey, Public Service boss Francis Muthaura, Kass FM journalist Joshua arap Sang and Postmaster-General Hussein Ali.
According to the poll, the six are fairly known by citizens. Mr Ruto was identified as one of the suspects by 86 per cent of the respondents ahead of Mr Kenyatta at 81 per cent.
Maj-Gen Ali, who served as the police commissioner during the violence, is the least known with 51 per cent able to identify him.
The highest level of awareness was recorded in Nairobi (36 per cent) mainly due to strong media presence.
