Anxiety as ICC sets up base

Ministers Moses Wetangula (left), George Saitoti and James Orengo at a press conference with the ICC registrar Silvana Arbia at Harambee House in Nairobi, September 3, 2010. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By SUNDAY NATION TEAM
Posted Saturday, September 4 2010 at 22:30

A more robust International Criminal Court process is at play as chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appears keen to complete his investigations of key post-election violence suspects by the end of the year.

The ICC process was for some time overshadowed by the referendum but is now in top gear following the signing Friday of an agreement to allow the court to set up a base in Kenya.

“The ICC move to establish an office in Kenya shows the process is now indispensable. There is now a lot of anxiety within the political class as we head to the 2012 elections,” Nairobi lawyer John Waiganjo said.

Mr Waiganjo and Kenya National Commission on Human Rights official Hassan Omar said the increased ICC activity could have a huge impact on government as some of its top members are implicated.

A section of the Cabinet is unenthusiastic about the ICC, with other members pushing for charges against perpetrators of the violence that left 1,133 people dead.

The ICC’s actions could dramatically change the country’s political scene as some of those mentioned in connection with the violence over the disputed 2007 presidential election results have their eyes on the 2012 electoral race.

“There must be some who are panicking after actively participating in the referendum while hoping to redeem their images as they now have to deal with accountability issues first,” Mr Omar said.

The visit of ICC registrar Silvana Arbia to Kenya last week culminated in the signing of the agreement between the government and ICC.

On Saturday, Ms Arbia published a nine-page advertisement in newspapers to elucidate the ICC process. Mr Omar said the ICC office in Kenya would help mobilise witnesses and give an opportunity to Kenyans to internalise the process.

A number of witnesses have been taken out of Kenya for protection as they prepare to give testimony. But some potential witnesses in Eldoret accused the court of delaying their travel despite their cover having been blown.

“We expected that we would be given a brief, but it seems the process is long and rigorous,” said one of the witnesses.

Lucas Barasa, Daniel Nyassy and Jonathan Komen