Rift Valley leaders warn against Kenya trials

Some leaders in the Rift Valley on Tuesday warned against revival of local post-election violence trials for fear of fresh clashes.

They cautioned that reopening 5,000 cases against minor offenders would re-ignite tribal animosity between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin communities.

Attorney-General Githu Muigai last week indicated that he would ask the Chief Justice to set up a section of the High Court to try violence suspects. (READ: Kibaki orders Githu to set up legal team on ruling)

But the leaders said the move was ill-timed given that this is an election year and expressed fears the peace and reconciliation gains made in the past four years would be lost.

“Communities that fought in 2007/08 are now living peacefully. They are rebuilding their lives and their children are going to the same schools.

“What would happen if we start arresting neighbours and charging them afresh?” asked Mr Duncan Mwangi Kuria, a community leader in Londiani.

If the government was keen on apprehending the suspects, he added, it would have done so immediately after the violence.

Bishop Geoffrey Buliba of The Christian Brotherhood Church said people in Rift Valley, the epicentre of the chaos in which 1,133 people were killed, had forgiven each other and should be allowed to heal.

“What was the use of the various peace campaigns to re-unite warring communities... who will testify against these suspects?” he posed.

Molo MP Joseph Kiuna questioned what purpose the process would be serving after four years of inertia on the government side.

Meanwhile, civil society groups want the list of 20 individuals named by the Waki Commission as suspected key perpetrators of the violence made public.

The names were handed in a sealed envelope to the International Criminal Court by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Waki Commission said the individuals should be investigated further over their alleged role in the violence.

“The Waki Commission gave a list of 20, six were named by the ICC. Who are the other 14?,” Mr Joseph Kirui, a rights activist asked.