Use of hate speech could lead to arrests, Ocampo Six warned

The Ocampo Six have been warned that they risk being arrested and detained if they incite the public into a fresh wave of violence.

The caution came as three of the suspects appeared before the pre-trial chamber on Thursday at The Hague.

Presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova said the court’s attention had been drawn to signs of a new bout of violence through articles published in Kenyan newspapers.

“It came to the knowledge of the chamber by way of following some articles in the Kenyan newspapers that there are some movements towards re-triggering the violence in the country by way of using some dangerous speeches,” she said.

Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and Kass FM radio presenter Joshua Sang were in court at The Hague to be identified as suspects and to be read the charges they face.

The judges set September 1, 2011 as the date when the hearings to confirm or dismiss the charges will start. (READ: ICC judges issue September date for suspects)

Without singling out any of the suspects, Lady Justice Trendafilova warned that inciting people to start fighting was tantamount to breaching a key condition that was imposed on the suspects when the summonses were issued.

In the summonses issued on March 8, the Ocampo Six were strictly warned against engaging in activities that amount to committing crimes similar to the charges that have been brought against them by ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

“This is a general point to be made to all the suspects that such type of action could be perceived as a sort of inducement, which may constitute the breach of one of the conditions set out in the summonses to appear, namely, to continue committing crimes within the jurisdiction of the court,” she said.

The judge said the court will not hesitate to withdraw the summonses and issue punitive arrest warrants. The court, she stated, wants the Ocampo Six to enjoy their freedom during the proceedings.

Other members of the three-judge bench are judges Hans-Peter Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser. The warning comes a day before Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Civil Service boss Francis Muthaura and Postmaster-General Hussein Ali appear in court.

It could be as a result of the statements Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta and their supporters have been issuing at a series of rallies they held before going to The Hague.