Kenya on trial
January 23, 2012
The International Criminal Court in The Hague announced on Monday it will start proceedings against four of the six high-profile Kenyans, who are accused of orchestrating the violence which followed the 2007 elections. Possible presidential candidates Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are among those to face trial.
"After having thoroughly examined all the evidence presented by the prosecution, the chamber decided to confirm the charges against four of the six suspects," ICC presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova said.
"The chamber found that there are substantial grounds to believe Mr. (William) Ruto is responsible as an indirect perpetrator of the crimes," she added in a reference to one of the four. However, there was not enough evidence to try Henry Kosgey, Minister for Industrialization at the time and now a senior member of Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), as well as former police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali, she said.
In addition to Ruto and Kenyatta, Francis Kirimi Muthaura, head of Kenya's public service, and radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang will be charged with crimes against humanity during post-election violence in 2007 and 2008.
Post-election violence
Following a slender victory at the polls for Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Dec. 27, 2007, which opposition leader Raila Odinga refused to recognize, supporters of both camps engaged in the deadly violence. It also became a tribal conflict between members of the Kikuyu group, associated with Kibaki, and the Luo group, associated with Odinga. More than 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were estimated to have fled their homes.
The unrest persisted until February 28, 2008 when an internationally mediated agreement was reached, guaranteeing parliamentary representation for the opposition under Odinga as prime minister. In the aftermath of the violence, three prominent members of Odinga's ODM were accused of provoking murder and persecution of members of the Kikuyu tribe.
Shortly before the ICC announced its ruling there were fears that the prominence of the suspects in Kenyan society could trigger renewed fighting. The police presence was stepped up in areas considered the most volatile a week before the announcement.
With two possible presidential candidates among the suspects, the court ruling might have far-reaching consequences for the elections in March next year.
Uhuru Kenyatta, who is Kenya's finance minister, deputy prime minister and the son of Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta, is considered to be one of the most powerful men in the country. He is accused of having long-running ties with a brutal criminal gang called the Mungiki, which is known for skinning and beheading its victims, and which may have been mobilized during the 2007 unrest to attack ODM supporters.
The ICC has described William Ruto, a former higher education minister who sided with Prime Minister Odinga at the time of the violence, as being a "principal planner and organizer of crimes" against PNU supporters. He has since fallen out with Odinga and was suspended from government in 2010. Ruto immediately confirmed he would still be running for president. Kenyan media reported that he would appeal the ruling. "Allegations against me will forever be strange to me. My legal team will move expeditiously to analyze the ruling and the actions to take," Ruto said at his home in Nairobi.
Long history of impunity
"This ruling changes the political landscape of this country. Kenyans will now be able to go to the polls without fearing violence," Human Rights Activist Ken Wafula said. "I think it was fair, and I think some of us will work through the prosecution process to ensure further evidence is given," he added
However, he felt disappointed that charges were dropped against former police Chief Ali. "So many Kenyans were killed by the police and I didn't expect Ali to escape prosecution," he said. "We may want to push the prosecution to review the case against Ali."
Neela Ghoshal, a Kenya expert at Human Rights Watch, said most Kenyans supported the ICC process. "Everyone in Kenya knows there's a long history of impunity in the country - that for decades politicians have almost explicitly been able to kill and get away with it," said Ghoshal. A trial at the ICC would be a way to break with that tradition. "Naturally, there are those who are against the ICC," said Ghoshal, "but generally people feel this is an important step for the development of Kenya."
After repeated attempts to hear the cases in Kenya were blocked by the Kenyan parliament, they were referred to The Hague. It is possible that as political heavy-weights the six suspects were able to wield considerable influence both inside and outside parliament.
The suspects will remain at liberty until their trials start, but Trendafilova warned the four could face detention if they attempt to stir up new violence. No trial date has been set yet.
Author: Philipp Sander / za, Sarah Steffen (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Mark Caldwell / rm