Raila allies hit back in poll violence feud

The political mood in Kenya turned ugly on Thursday with Members of Parliament trading accusations of responsibility for the election violence of 2007.

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In Parliament, where important legislative business of bringing into effect the new Constitution awaits, the reform process suffered a knock after the coalition partners failed to agree on the leadership of the all-important committee that will supervise the implementation of the new laws.

One half of the committee, made of Party of National Unity nominees, said they had elected Mr Abdikadir Mohamed the chairman in keeping with a resolution of the coalition’s joint parliamentary group meeting. But Orange Democratic Movement MPs, who want Mr Ababu Namwamba to chair it, disowned the supposed election and referred the matter to the Speaker for adjudication.

But there was some progress in the government’s cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into post-poll chaos with National Security minister George Saitoti announcing the government would hand over secret minutes of top-level security meetings, which the ICC has requested.

There was some initial resistance to handing them over, with secrecy laws being cited. But a row in ODM kicked off on Wednesday when five MPs from the Rift Valley suggested their party bore responsibility for the election violence in 2007/8 is likely to poison the environment and make reaching an agreement difficult.

Instability in the coalition is likely to worsen after three PNU MPs waded into the murk, blaming political rival ODM of authoring the violence and asking its leader, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, to resign. On Wednesday, Mr Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu) and Mr Charles Keter (Belgut) claimed that meetings were held at Pentagon House following the disputed presidential election to incite party supporters into violence.

ODM leadership came out strongly on Thursday to dispute the allegations, terming them “false and diversionary”. “There were no such meetings. These are diversionary tactics and I hope the ICC is competent enough to read through them,” said ODM deputy leader Musalia Mudavadi.

Mr Ruto and Mr Keter claimed the party’s top leadership held several meetings at Pentagon House to plan mass action, which allegedly resulted in violence in parts of the country where the party commands massive support. The two MPs, who were accompanied by three others from the Rift Valley — Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot (Kuresoi), Dr Julius Kones (Konoin) and Benjamin Lang’at (Ainamoi) — asked that Mr Odinga presents to the ICC the minutes of those meetings.

“Every time we had meetings and discussed mass action plans,” Mr Ruto claimed at Parliament. He said Mr Odinga should give Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, the “mass action minutes”. Asked to comment on the claims, Mr Keter added that the ODM “had meetings from time to time.”

“We welcome the ICC to do their investigations thoroughly; as they seek minutes from the Provincial Administration, they should extend the same to ODM and there should be no bias,” he said. In the rejoinder, Mr Mudavadi said: “The ICC investigators are pursuing very definite issues and so I would like to say that such investigations should not be politicised. The claims are just as diversionary as claims that a certain community is being targeted,” the deputy prime minister said.

On the minutes of security meetings during the chaos, a Cabinet committee which deals with the ICC will next week receive minutes for possible handing over to the ICC. “The documents are being compiled before they are handed over to the Cabinet sub-committee in the course of next week,” Prof Saitoti said on the sidelines of the ongoing conference on conflict prevention and sustainable social development in Africa.

In September, the ICC wrote to the government twice asking for minutes of top security meetings and an alleged session at State House that the Waki Commission report linked to the violence in one of the two main violence hot spots. The government’s initial response was that handing over sensitive documents could jeopardise the security of the country.

It has since changed its position and agreed to cooperate. “We are fully cooperating with the ICC. The President and Prime Minister had given their word on this and we are not going back,” the National Security minister said. On Thursday, Daily Nation sources said the ICC plans to rely on 40 witnesses to build its two cases against those who masterminded and funded the chaos.

Senior government officials who include Provincial Police Officers (PPOs) and Provincial Commissioners expected to appear before the ICC investigators are preparing themselves. They are studying a report of the Commission of Inquiry into Post Election Violence where some of them have been mentioned.

The officers have been supplied with copies of the report commonly referred to as the Waki report from the Government Press. An ICC investigator will take their statements in the presence of Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal of the High Court. The Hague probably wants to establish how security forces used deadly force in dealing with protestors and what orders were issued and by whom.

Some 1,133 people were killed and more than 650,000 evicted from their farms. Top suspects are expected to be from both ODM and PNU. In ODM, the MPs accusing their party had called a meeting on Wednesday to announce that they will skip Friday’s public forum to educate the public on the new Constitution in Kericho presided over by the PM.

They said they had received an invitation from the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Mohamed Isahakia. The MPs, who opposed the constitution during the referendum, said their stand had not changed. “He can talk to the ‘Yes’ people,” Mr Ruto said.

The meeting will be held at the Tea Research Training Centre starting 10.30am. On Thursday, three PNU MPs said it was “good ODM has finally owned up” and asked the party leader, Mr Odinga, to take responsibility.