Ocampo invites three to The Hague as anger over legal fees mounts

Three post-election violence suspects have been invited to The Hague to present evidence.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has given the suspects until month-end to absolve themselves of blame that they committed crimes against humanity.

Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, suspended Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey and Postmaster-General Hussein Ali had received the invitation letters, sources close to the investigations told the Nation on Tuesday.

Others listed are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, radio journalist Joshua Sang and Eldoret MP William Ruto who travelled to The Hague last year “to set the record straight.”

“We would like to offer you an opportunity to meet with our representatives at The Hague to provide relevant information in regard to the investigations,” says a letter.

The invitation is seen as a response to the desire to comply with ICC investigation procedures. Questions have been raised on whether the prosecutor may have violated the Rome Statute by not talking to the suspects before making his application for summons to appear.

Article 54 of the Rome Statute mandates the prosecutor to investigate both exonerating and incriminating evidence.

“You can only obtain exonerating evidence by speaking to the suspects which the prosecutor didn’t do as anticipated in the Statute,” said a lawyer close to Mr Kosgey.

“The prosecutor may be sealing gaps in his evidence to comply with the ICC procedure and block possible avenues for the defence.”

Nation investigations show the accused have been burning the midnight oil with lawyers to prepare statements.

Last week, Mr Kosgey told journalists that following his suspension, he had redirected his energies towards preparing his defence.

Should the suspects choose to appear, they will not be forced to incriminate themselves.

Meanwhile lobby groups on Tuesday condemned the decision by the government to pay legal fees for two of the six suspects of the post-election violence at The Hague.

Centre for Multiparty Democracy chairman Lawrence Gumbe, said the government’s move was a clear testimony of how it intended to “subvert the final and only remaining process of justice for the post-election victims, that of the ICC.”

“More than 350,000 IDPs are suffering at the hands of the same government that is protecting the suspected masterminds of their demise, this is unacceptable,” Prof Gumbe said.

The Muslim Human Rights Forum termed the move to bail out Mr Francis Muthaura and Maj-Gen Hussein Ali as a waste of taxpayers’ resources.

“Kenyans need to be told where the government will get the money to pay the legal fees for the suspects as the budget did not have a provision for such expenditure,” the lobby said in a statement.

It called for the immediate resignation of the suspects still occupying public office —Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and Postmaster General Hussein Ali.

Prof Gumbe told journalists that proponents of the KKK alliance — Mr Kenyatta, Mr William Ruto and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka — should be prosecuted under the national cohesion laws for fomenting tribal animosity.

“We are seeking legal counsel and urge National Cohession and Integration Commission (NCIC) to prosecute the individuals who want to use the International Criminal Court issue and the fight against corruption to balkanise Kenyans on ethnic grounds,” he said.

Elsewhere, six pressure groups from Rift Valley and Western provinces said the legal fees should instead be used to settle IDPs.

The groups said a credible local tribunal should also be formed to try people who were not on the Luis Moreno-Ocampo list. Their statement was read by Mr Nick Omito of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy after a one-day seminar in Eldoret.

They also said they would mobilise a million Kenyans to sign a petition against withdrawal from the ICC.

And in Kisumu, a group of youths took to the streets to protest against efforts by the government to pull Kenya out of the ICC.

One of the protest leaders, Mr Vincent Odhiambo, said the efforts to quit ICC were a sign of impunity by people who had killed Kenyans.