Anxiety in Kenya ahead of ICC ruling on election violence case

This is an original piece sent through to Channel 16 by a Kenyan blogger, Thomas Bwire.

Nairobi

In the coming week, Kenya will be in the spotlight again. The six Kenyan suspects facing charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) will  know if they have a case to answer or not when the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber seats to give its verdict.

All eyes will keenly focus on the presiding judges at the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II, Ekaterina Trendafilova, Hans Peter-Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser who will give a verdict on whether the five top figures and a journalist should go on trial for their role in the post election violence that left about 1000 people dead in Kenya in 2008. The violence left an estimates of 350, 000 Kenyans displaced.

Many people were wounded, killed, tortured among others; inhumane acts were committed on people for their ethnicity. Tribal politics drove this violence.

The cases can only go to trial if the ICC prosecutor has presented sufficient evidence. This could be one of the biggest cases that Luis Moreno Ocampo leaves with the tribunal before vacating the office of the chief prosecutor for Gambia’s Fatou Bensouda in June this year.

In the first case, Eldoret North Member of Parliament William Ruto, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and KASS FM radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang are facing three counts each of murder, forcible transfer of population and persecution. The second case touches on very high profile personalities: Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and Postmaster General Hussein Ali, all facing five charges each for murder, rape, forcible transfer of population, persecution and other inhumane acts during the 2008 post election violence.

The outcome of the Kenyan case will be watched globally but more important is what the case could change in Kenya. Kibera slum was one of the places that [was] adversely affected by the violence; most local residents there say they want to see [the] ICC deliver justice and fairness.

Some of the affected persons still feel that besides the ‘Ocampo six’ as they are famously known, our local leaders still need to do more in terms of reconciling communities, given that most of the middle level perpetrators have gone scot-free and that there [have been few] efforts to end impunity.

Early this week I had a chat with one woman, who [had to move when] violence erupted. Her bitterness is visible, as she tells me that she used to own many houses but that she fled the violence. Now the majority of the tenants don’t pay her rent. She wondered why people like her at a community level cannot get help from the Kenyan government. She currently lives in satellite [one of the estates in a constituency].

I met [another man] who urges fellow Kenyans not to persecute each other [through] tribes but to seek justice and [show] respect [...], during and even after the ruling by the ICC. He has worked as a peace committee chair since the year 2008 and one of [his] key success stor[ies] involved [...] rallying for funds to rebuild burnt homes and businesses for the victims. By having built [such] structures, some of them have been able to open small scale business premises that enable them [to] earn a living.

One Ward Chief in another district points out that they have held local meetings at the village level [...] in a move aimed at reconciling the affected communities. Quite a number of the landlords have been assisted in recovering their houses back, while for some, more needs to be done by visiting the tenants and open dialogue of possible way they can pay rent and show some sense of responsibility.

As the clock ticks away into next week, there is a sense of anxiety. The International Crisis Group (ICG) has issued a statement noting that the ICC decision will continue to play a key role in our lives. It will have a great impact on the political class in Kenya but ultimately will not effectively end impunity unless local efforts to bring other perpetrators to justice are boosted. The ICG report has called for tough measures against tribal hate speech and this ICC decision will have a huge impact ahead of Kenya’s presidential and legislative elections.

Whichever way the ruling goes, all that we need to remember is always to shun ethnic hatred and the politics that led to violence in 2008. Also, the needs of victims and [those who have been] displaced must be given adequate attention.