By MURITHI MUTIGA
Posted Saturday, February 5 2011 at 16:47
Two previous attempts to institute a local tribunal have been rejected by the Cabinet and Parliament.
Apparently caught off balance by the determination of the international community to see those responsible for the violence brought to book, senior government officials have scrambled to manage the question of transitional justice since the coalition was formed.
On July 30, 2009, the Cabinet resolved not to support trials at The Hague and also appeared to dismiss the option of a special tribunal.
A Presidential Press Service statement said the best remedy was “accelerated and far-reaching reforms” of the Judiciary, police and the investigative arms of Government to enable them investigate, prosecute and try perpetrators of the violence locally.
This was a position publicly criticised by Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, who had pressed co-principals Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to lobby MPs to support a Bill which would have seen the formation of a special tribunal.
The Bill was subsequently rejected by MPs. “I was just laughing at them (during the Cabinet meeting),” he told Capital FM news at the time.
“I declined to respond to their remarks because they were not related to my proposals. At no time did anyone give reasons why my Bill was bad, all they told me is to stop stripping the powers of the Presidency, the Attorney General and Chief Justice.
“But my question is: didn’t these people have the same powers when people butchered and raped others? I have no apology to this country for suggesting that in order to establish the tribunal that can enjoy the support and confidence of all Kenyans we should step back from the powers provided in the Constitution.”
The next major effort to establish a special tribunal came in November 2009 when Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara prepared a Bill that would have seen some suspects tried locally and those with the greatest responsibility taken to The Hague.
The Bill faced hostility from backbenchers who frequently walked out of the chamber when the Bill came up for discussion, creating a quorum hitch.
It was around this time that the statement “don’t be vague, let’s go to The Hague” was popularised as MPs rallied to defeat the Bill.
But they appear to have had underestimated the determination of the International Criminal Court to bring suspects to trial.
Following the December 15 announcement where ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo revealed the names of the key suspects, there have been renewed calls for a local mechanism for trials.
Whether the political class will back the latest local tribunal Bill remains to be seen.
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