Names are floating to the surface in Nairobi.
Kenya's National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has published a report on those suspected of funding and inciting the post-election violence, just a week after peace broker Kofi Annan handed a list of top suspects to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a prelude to the suspects being tried in the Hague if Kenya's authorities fail to judge them, fairly, here.
The KNCHR named over 200 people as suspects in organizing or financing the violence that killed around 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. The names include many who were already rumoured to be on the Annan list, although the KNCHR did not confirm that. They named Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Tourism Minister Najib Balala, Police Chief Hussein Ali, plus other ministers and members of parliament. Many of those named in the KNCHR report have denied the allegations, faulting the report's conclusions as rumour or hearsay.
So what next? Kenyan authorities are supposed to come up with a concrete plan by September on setting up a local court, which should then be in place by next July.
But according to a survey, most Kenyans -- 68 percent of those questioned -- want the suspects tried at the Hague. It's not hard to see why -- in a state where corruption is a way of life, the idea that the powerful will be fairly judged is a tough one to embrace.
The coalition cabinet is due to meet on Monday to discuss the problem. They already met once since Annan handed over the envelope and failed to agree on a way forward -- no surprise to Kenyans who have watched the unlikely bedfellows squabble over policy and even protocol for months now. However, maybe the threat of international prosecution of members from both President Mwai Kibaki's PNU and Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ODM will at some point bring the rivals together to craft a solution to avoid the Hague.
That might not be the best result for Kenya.
I guess the options are fairly obvious:
-- The Kenyan authorities could set up a special tribunal to try the top suspects, but the leaders will have to persuade parliament, which has already rejected this idea once in February.
-- They could try to create a special court of some kind by decree bypassing parliament-- always knowing that the eyes of the ICC will be fixed on them to make sure they meet their standards.
-- The tottering government could, I suppose, call a snap election. Yes, that might unleash violence and chaos, but it might also delay the day of judgment and that might be worth the risk for some. In any case, no option is danger-free. This New York Times article quotes a former government human rights official, Maina Kiai , as saying that ethnic gangs are rearming themselves across the country, this time with guns not machetes or bows and arrows.
"(Kiai) contends that unless the culprits are punished for the killings last year, which included hacking up old men and burning toddlers to death, the next time there is a disputed election, which he thinks there surely will be, people will be emboldened to wreak havoc again."
Among those favouring the ICC option, some hope for the purging of a leadership that has become a byword for corruption. In this post, the writer says it is high time those who have milked the country for their own benefit be forced out. I would simply ask: are there enough clean, experienced political heavyweights on the bench to take their place?
I do think it is encouraging that a process is underway to attribute responsibility for the post-election killing. Too often, such violence in Africa is blamed on tribal tensions, as if that explained everything. But like anywhere else, tensions, tribal or otherwise, have to be inflamed, intimidation and retribution have to be funded, people have to be persuaded to set aside years of fraternity and turn on neighbours.
Away from pure politics, the drought is really beginning to take its toll on Nairobi (of course, it has been causing deaths and havoc in other parts of the country for many months now). Water rationing is getting tougher. Our house will have water from 9am on Monday until 3 pm on Tuesday, that's it for the week. And we are the lucky ones -- not least because someone before us had the foresight to install a really big water tank. Some neighbourhoods have had no water in three weeks. And while Mother Nature can be blamed for some of the shortages, she's being given a helping hand by criminal cartels working with some officials at the Nairobi water distribution company who have been selling water meant for the city to farmers upcountry.
Saturday 18 July 2009
Thursday 9 July 2009
Annan Pushes the Envelope
Kofi Annan has acted, and it appears it's game on again in the pursuit of those accused of masterminding Kenya's post-election killing.
The former U.N. Secretary-General and peace broker in Kenya's post-election chaos has delivered on his promise: handing an envelope of names of those suspected of being the fomentors and financiers of the post-election violence to the International Criminal Court. The list, drawn up by the Kenyan Waki Commission, is supposed to include businessmen and politicians -- some quite high up -- accused of inciting or funding the violence which claimed around 1,500 lives after the disputed 2007 poll. As Kenyans fought each other over the election result, Annan helped broker a power-sharing deal which led to a coalition government between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who claimed Kibaki had stolen the vote. Annan has since repeatedly called for those deemed most responsible for the killings to face justice, giving two deadlines for action by Kenyan authorities, the most recent being August.
His decision to hand over the envelope came after Kenyan parliamentarians said they had agreed with the ICC that they would set up a local tribunal by 2010, or hand the case over to the court in the Hague. The parliamentarians also said they would inform the ICC of the progress of their investigations in September.
It would appear Annan is uncomfortable with seeing the issue put on the backburner in any way.
In a statement from Geneva, he said he welcomed Kenya's efforts to establish a special tribunal, but added that "any judicial mechanism adopted to bring the perpetrators of the post-election violence to justice must meet international legal standards and be broadly debated with all sectors of the Kenyan society in order to bring credibility to the process".
He also said: "Justice delayed is justice denied ... The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy."
Some Kenyan parliamentarians have praised Annan. One MP, Adan Duale from Dujis, said: "Nobody should panic. This is the best and only way we are going to have a fair investigation. It is just to the victims and the accused."
One imagines however that there probably is a pinch of panic in the corridors of power right now.
It's interesting that Annan seems to be taking the role of tough guy on this issue, while once outspoken ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has adopted a somewhat more conciliatory tone, as his comments as in this Reuters interview show. Saying there would be no impunity, the prosecutor said: "They (the Kenyan parliamentarians) said that in September they will come with a specific plan ... They think they will take one year ... They can decide. It's their decision. I am not imposing a deadline." Moreno-Ocampo's comments certainly seemed to offer some wriggle-room to the Kenyan authorities, but the fact that Annan has handed over the sealed envelope of names has upped the ante again.
The former U.N. Secretary-General and peace broker in Kenya's post-election chaos has delivered on his promise: handing an envelope of names of those suspected of being the fomentors and financiers of the post-election violence to the International Criminal Court. The list, drawn up by the Kenyan Waki Commission, is supposed to include businessmen and politicians -- some quite high up -- accused of inciting or funding the violence which claimed around 1,500 lives after the disputed 2007 poll. As Kenyans fought each other over the election result, Annan helped broker a power-sharing deal which led to a coalition government between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who claimed Kibaki had stolen the vote. Annan has since repeatedly called for those deemed most responsible for the killings to face justice, giving two deadlines for action by Kenyan authorities, the most recent being August.
His decision to hand over the envelope came after Kenyan parliamentarians said they had agreed with the ICC that they would set up a local tribunal by 2010, or hand the case over to the court in the Hague. The parliamentarians also said they would inform the ICC of the progress of their investigations in September.
It would appear Annan is uncomfortable with seeing the issue put on the backburner in any way.
In a statement from Geneva, he said he welcomed Kenya's efforts to establish a special tribunal, but added that "any judicial mechanism adopted to bring the perpetrators of the post-election violence to justice must meet international legal standards and be broadly debated with all sectors of the Kenyan society in order to bring credibility to the process".
He also said: "Justice delayed is justice denied ... The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy."
Some Kenyan parliamentarians have praised Annan. One MP, Adan Duale from Dujis, said: "Nobody should panic. This is the best and only way we are going to have a fair investigation. It is just to the victims and the accused."
One imagines however that there probably is a pinch of panic in the corridors of power right now.
It's interesting that Annan seems to be taking the role of tough guy on this issue, while once outspoken ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has adopted a somewhat more conciliatory tone, as his comments as in this Reuters interview show. Saying there would be no impunity, the prosecutor said: "They (the Kenyan parliamentarians) said that in September they will come with a specific plan ... They think they will take one year ... They can decide. It's their decision. I am not imposing a deadline." Moreno-Ocampo's comments certainly seemed to offer some wriggle-room to the Kenyan authorities, but the fact that Annan has handed over the sealed envelope of names has upped the ante again.
Monday 6 July 2009
Why the Delay?
It's hard to fathom what is going on with plans to judge those deemed responsible for Kenya's post-election violence in 2007/08.
Just a month ago, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a peace broker in the post-poll chaos, said the coalition government had to take concrete steps towards setting up a local tribunal by the end of August or he would hand an envelope with the names of the top suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. Now, it seems Kenyan parliamentarians have agreed with the ICC to set up a local tribunal by July 2010, or then hand the case over to the ICC.
On Friday, the ICC prosecutor gave Kenya 12 months to set up a special tribunal, saying his was a court of last resort.
A statement released after a meeting of Kenyan ministers and Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: “If there is no parliamentary agreement, and in accordance with the Kenya Government’s commitment to end impunity of those responsible for the most serious crimes, the Government of Kenya will refer the situation to the prosecutor in accordance with Article 14 of the Rome Statute
Why the delay? It's a bit of a thumbsucker given that until recently speed seemed to be the order of the day. In June, Annan said: "If it (a local tribunal) is not established within a reasonable period in this case towards the end of August, I will have no option but to hand over the envelope to the ICC to take over from there."
So is the ICC getting cold feet? Is this the effect of increasingly vocal opposition on the continent to a court that is perceived by many to focus most of its attention on Africa, while ignoring human rights abuses by leaders/governments in other regions?
On Saturday, AU ministers passed a resolution to deny the ICC cooperation regarding Sudan's indicted President Omar al Bashir. They argued that the chaos in Darfur, which his indictment was meant to address, might escalate if an arrest warrant for him is executed
Or is this because the war in Kenya's neighbour Somalia -- where foreign fighters are said to be joining the militant al Shabaab group against the Western-backed transitional government -- means that anything that might cause instability in Kenya is now too high-risk a strategy. This post certainly thinks so.
In other words, a strong Kenya -- or at least a Kenya that is not openly at war with itself as a court tries to pin blame on those most responsible for the post-election violence -- is needed to help thwart al Shabaab and its allies, and hold this most recent, and increasingly violent, front in the "war on terror".
Kenya is vulnerable. Last week, the US-based Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy Institute ranked it 14th in its list of failed states -- that's below North Korea, Yemen and Ethiopia. Last year, it was in 26th place. And perhaps the international community thinks that a vulnerable albeit imperfect state next-door to a state that harbours al Qaeda allies needs support, more than justice.
I would be interested to know what Annan has to say about this deadline change, which certainly takes the pressure off the Kenyan government. With a 12-month deadline, you can't help but think that the issue is being swept under the carpet. A lot can happen in a year in politics.
Just a month ago, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a peace broker in the post-poll chaos, said the coalition government had to take concrete steps towards setting up a local tribunal by the end of August or he would hand an envelope with the names of the top suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. Now, it seems Kenyan parliamentarians have agreed with the ICC to set up a local tribunal by July 2010, or then hand the case over to the ICC.
On Friday, the ICC prosecutor gave Kenya 12 months to set up a special tribunal, saying his was a court of last resort.
A statement released after a meeting of Kenyan ministers and Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: “If there is no parliamentary agreement, and in accordance with the Kenya Government’s commitment to end impunity of those responsible for the most serious crimes, the Government of Kenya will refer the situation to the prosecutor in accordance with Article 14 of the Rome Statute
Why the delay? It's a bit of a thumbsucker given that until recently speed seemed to be the order of the day. In June, Annan said: "If it (a local tribunal) is not established within a reasonable period in this case towards the end of August, I will have no option but to hand over the envelope to the ICC to take over from there."
So is the ICC getting cold feet? Is this the effect of increasingly vocal opposition on the continent to a court that is perceived by many to focus most of its attention on Africa, while ignoring human rights abuses by leaders/governments in other regions?
On Saturday, AU ministers passed a resolution to deny the ICC cooperation regarding Sudan's indicted President Omar al Bashir. They argued that the chaos in Darfur, which his indictment was meant to address, might escalate if an arrest warrant for him is executed
Or is this because the war in Kenya's neighbour Somalia -- where foreign fighters are said to be joining the militant al Shabaab group against the Western-backed transitional government -- means that anything that might cause instability in Kenya is now too high-risk a strategy. This post certainly thinks so.
In other words, a strong Kenya -- or at least a Kenya that is not openly at war with itself as a court tries to pin blame on those most responsible for the post-election violence -- is needed to help thwart al Shabaab and its allies, and hold this most recent, and increasingly violent, front in the "war on terror".
Kenya is vulnerable. Last week, the US-based Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy Institute ranked it 14th in its list of failed states -- that's below North Korea, Yemen and Ethiopia. Last year, it was in 26th place. And perhaps the international community thinks that a vulnerable albeit imperfect state next-door to a state that harbours al Qaeda allies needs support, more than justice.
I would be interested to know what Annan has to say about this deadline change, which certainly takes the pressure off the Kenyan government. With a 12-month deadline, you can't help but think that the issue is being swept under the carpet. A lot can happen in a year in politics.
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