Envoy’s last attempt at changing Kenya’s perception of The Hague

To many average Kenyans, the two buildings at The Hague — the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the prison — have defined the Dutch-Kenya relations since Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo took up the post-election violence cases.
But as she comes to the end of her five-year tour of duty in Kenya, outgoing Dutch Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum wants Kenyans to realise that The Hague is not just about the ICC.

“The Hague to people here means ICC. But I would like Kenyans to know that The Hague is not just those two buildings they always see (in the media). The Hague is a big city. It is the seat of the Government of the Netherlands; our Queen resides in The Hague.

Amsterdam is the capital but the seat of government is The Hague,” the envoy told the Sunday Nation.

Change image

And as she proceeds to her next duty station in Mexico from August 2, Ms van den Assum hopes the image that Kenyans have of The Hague will change.

“It is situated in the North Sea so it has a beach, it has a lovely park and it is a very lively city.

We like visitors to think of The Hague not only as the seat of the ICC but as a vibrant modern European city worth visiting.”

Still, she urges the government to continue working with the ICC to ensure justice for the victims of post-election violence.

Her other wish for Kenyans is a peaceful election next year. That, she says, can only be possible if the Constitution is implemented in time and within the letter and spirit of the new laws.

The envoy witnessed Kenya go through key moments.

She was here since July 15, 2006, long before the campaigns for the 2007 General Election officially kicked off, and witnessed the politics that characterised the campaigns and, above all, the violence that followed the disputed election results.

When the nation descended into an orgy of widespread violence after the elections, Ms van den Assum, together with her European Union counterparts, faced the task of co-ordinating the response to the crisis.

“I was here at the time when things were bad like during the post-election violence, which was a very troubling period,” she recalls.
The outgoing ambassador, however, feels the future is promising after the promulgation of a new Constitution last year.
She considers the passage of the new Constitution at the referendum her happiest moment.

In fact, she requested her government to extend her tour of duty by a year.

“I wanted to stay on particularly to see what happened with the implementation of the Constitution and also because I have made many friends here.”
Passing new laws

She adds: “If I was to identify a high moment for me personally, then it must be at the Bomas of Kenya’s tallying centre when it became clear that the Constitution would pass.

It started at 50 per cent and then it went higher and higher almost to 70 per cent, which is more than two-thirds and it was actually a better result for the Constitution than anyone had expected.

“The mood was one of such joy and happiness. We stayed until very early (the following day) in the morning. Everyone had been working very hard to make the dream of a new Constitution come true. That was a great moment.”

But while many people would take the post-election violence as the lowest point, the Dutch envoy lists the killing of Oscar King’ara and John Paul Oulu as her lowest moment during her tour of duty.

The next day after the killings, Ms van den Assum and her Norwegian counterpart Elisabeth Jacobsen (who has since left) organised a meeting with the civil society and human rights activists to establish whether they (activists) required any assistance and their expectations from the international community.

“They came and the mood was really one of despondency and fear because, if that could happen to their colleagues, they too were vulnerable. That was a low moment for me.”

She adds: “It has been a disappointment that the murder has not been resolved; that those who were behind it have gone free. It is about two years now and it almost seems forgotten, which should not be the case.”

On the whole, however, she believes the high moments prevailed and she leaves on an optimistic note that the Dutch-Kenya bilateral ties will continue to flourish.

And, as she heads for Mexico, which has been battling the narcotic drugs menace for years, Ms van den Assum has asked Kenyan authorities to deal decisively with the same locally to avoid descent into the levels in Latin America.