Fresh bid for local tribunal

The government is considering setting up a local tribunal to try minor suspects of the post-election chaos.

The onerous task, that has failed twice, was thrown at the government by chief mediator Kofi Annan who insisted that both The Hague and the local tribunal should be applied to punish the planners and the executors of the violence.

As the government started weighing its options, MPs on both sides of the Grand Coalition expressed varying views on Mr Annan’s resolutions at the end of his three-day visit.

Pace of reforms

The former UN Secretary General is said to have made outlined to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga during their last meeting on Wednesday the approaches should be adopted.

Mr Annan met the President and the PM on Wednesday afternoon to express the concerns of the clergy, civil society and other groups at the pace of reforms. He later addressed a press conference before leaving Kenya.

In an interview with the Daily Nation after the press conference, he said while the International Criminal Court (ICC) will try the key suspects, the local tribunal will deal with minor perpetrators.

“It must be a double approach. I never saw it as either/or. There is need for a local mechanism to deal with the high numbers of suspects,” he said.

Mr Annan who said he has been in contact with ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, clarified that The Hague will only deal with key perpetrators.

“The ICC will only take the big boys who are very few. The bulk of the of those who committed crimes will walk free,” he said. Sources said President Kibaki and Mr Odinga told Mr Annan that setting up a local tribunal depended on Parliament which has twice rejected the Bills.

He told the Nation: “The President and PM promised to lead from the front... given the pressure, I am confident they will keep their word.”

Thursday, Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said both Mr Annan and Mr Ocampo had insisted on the two approaches in addition to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

“Ocampo wrote to me about the three-pronged approach that Annan was talking about. This is why I tried to convince MPs that a local tribunal would have effectively dealt with both. I welcome the prescription of the chief mediator,” he said.

Mr Kilonzo proposed setting up of a special court within the High Court and taking the tribunal Bills back to Parliament. However, he warned that both options require amendments to the Constitution to cushion them from the powers of the President, the Attorney General and the Chief Justice.

Investigate crimes

Sources who cannot be named said to gain international flair, a police team that would investigate the crimes to be tried by the special division of the High Court could engage foreign assistance.

Attorney General Amos Wako could also use his powers to appoint an independent prosecutor who may be a foreigner.

However, the toughest challenge lies in the condition by Mr Annan that any local mechanism has to meet international standards as provided for in the Rome Statute which established the ICC.

On Thursday, MPs Lee Kinyanjui, Edick Anyanga and George Nyamweya urged the international community to give Kenya time to enact reforms.