Holidayzed and Confused

It's been hard to find time to write this blog now that school's out -- entertaining two excited young 'uns is a 24/7 task which leaves me struggling some evenings to remember my name. As for deciphering what's going on in Kenyan politics -- well, it's a tough job even when you haven't had a gaggle of sequined five-year-olds playing homicidal mermaids in the garden all afternoon.
But here goes.
Last week, the Kenyan cabinet said it would use the local judiciary to try those suspected of funding and inciting the post-election violence. This, predictably, has caused some outrage -- everyone acknowledges that the judiciary is backlogged, inefficient and all too open to influence. Human Rights Watch said the cabinet's decision to opt for using regular Kenyan courts was a failure. "Bringing justice to these victims is the most urgent test of the coalition government's willingness to resolve Kenya's crisis," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The Cabinet just resoundingly failed that test."
It appears the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- which has said it will step in if Kenya fails to prosecute the main suspects -- is so far holding fire. Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo told the Daily Nation that he would wait and see until September, when the Kenyan government is supposed to give an update on its progress.
Critics say that the cabinet's decision shows it has no desire to end impunity -- probably because this is quite a personal issue for some members of the coalition government. It says it will reform the police and the judiciary to ensure that the trials are fair and effective. Prime Minister Raila Odinga said: "We will reform the police force because people don’t want the police to prosecute themselves. We also realised that the Judiciary is riddled with corruption." (That statement is a fairly glaring indictment of the cabinet's decision.) Odinga went on to say: "We want to empower the office of the AG (Attorney-General) so that it can handle all the prosecutions. ICC can still come in if it feels some people need to be prosecuted at The Hague. But as of now the government wants to amend laws so that we can prosecute our own. The government will not accept to take its people to The Hague."
This is not acceptable to many Kenyans.
"The general feeling is that our government does not want to deal with impunity. Now by the cabinet refusing to heed to this recommendation by a very senior judge like Waki (the author of an early report naming those suspected of financing and inciting the violence), Kenyans are treating this as an act of cowardice. A government that is not prepared to face the truth and deal with the impunity that has been committed, and a government that is taking its citizens for granted," said James Mwamu, vice chairman of Kenya's law society.
There are voices of opposition even within the cabinet.
President Mwai Kibaki said last Thursday that the newly established Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) would also play a role in bringing the suspects to justice. But it is not particularly clear how much legal power the commission will have to punish those found guilty. Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo said today that the TJRC is not equipped to deal with the post-election violence. “The law regarding the TJRC states clearly that this is not a criminal justice system but a mechanism to unite people,” he said. “Do not allow politicians to mislead you.”
Which is a pretty blunt warning from a politician. Kilonzo wanted to set up a special tribunal, but failed to win cabinet support. He wants the ICC to move to arrests by December.
It's hard to see how the ICC could possibly accept a decision to try these suspects in courts which are universally decried as inefficient and corrupt -- even by the prime minister. Some analysts are saying the cabinet decision shows Kibaki and Odinga have completely lost control . It does seem that the country's rulers are running scared, making policy on the back foot and alienating more and more people, at home and abroad (and I'm thinking here of the Obama administration), as they struggle to cram the post-election violence back into its Pandora's box. It seems unlikely they will succeed, and their open divisions and ongoing paralysis on this is certainly fuelling calls for a change of government.
It would appear the ball is now in Moreno Ocampo's camp. He cannot be seen to step on the toes of a sovereign government -- especially given public perceptions of the court in Africa -- but surely, he can only allow so much procrastination from the Kenyan government.