Saturday, March 12, 2011

CABINET AVOIDS ICC DEBATE

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The Cabinet yesterday failed to discuss the Ocampo Six summonses to appear before the International Criminal Court on April 7. The PNU Ministers who had planned to raise the matter for discussion at the end of the agenda failed to do so.

Several ministers from both the PNU and ODM sides told the Star the matter was not raised as it could have made worse the split in the Cabinet over the matter. “How do you raise an issue that ODM has clearly said it is opposed to? Some of us had planned to raise the issue in today’s meeting so we can have a common position but we decided not to after ODM said mounting a challenge to the ICC summonses will be a waste of time,” said a PNU Minister. The PNU minister who was supposed to raise the matter did not do so.

The ODM ministers who had anticipated the discussion said their PNU colleagues were afraid they would not get the resolution that they hoped.

The anticipated resolution was for the whole Cabinet to take a stand to challenge the ICC ruling as indicated in the statement issued on Wednesday by Attorney General Amos Wako, Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo and Internal Security minister George Saitoti.

In response to the Wako-Mutula-Saitoti statement, Lands minister James Orengo issued another in which he said the ODM was not involved in making the decision and described as "futile" the attempts to challenge the lCC decision on the grounds of admissibility and jurisdiction.

Yesterday Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua issued a statement insisting that Raila was also in the Harambee House meeting on Wednesday that decided to challenge the ICC summonses. “The statement was issued as a government statement by Ministers responsible for the issue at hand. The issue of ICC touches on Security, Justice and Legal Proceedings. Therefore, the line Ministers responsible for these dockets issued the statements," said Mutua in a statement.. “The statement was not issued by ministers whose dockets do not fall within the issue at hand. That is why it was not signed by the Minister for Health, or Livestock, or Energy or even the minister for Lands,” said Mutua.

Soon after the Cabinet meeting yesterday, the ODM secretary general Anyang' Nyong'o announced that the party would hold a parliamentary group and a National Executive Committee meeting on March 17 to take a common stand on the ICC summons. “We want all our members to sing from one hymn book on this matter and not express different views,” Nyong’o said of the meeting which will be by invitation only unlike the past when all party leaders including MPs have been allowed in.

Two ICC legal experts Mohammed El Zaidy and Eleni Chaitdou, in a TV programme launched by the ICC through You Tube, explained that the six suspects had not been indicted yet and will return to Kenya immediately after appearing in court on April 7. “If the suspects do not appear before the court on that day, the chamber reserves the right to replace the summons with warrants of arrests," the experts said.

They explained that the court will read out the charges to the six and the Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will disclose the evidence he has to the defence teams before the charges are confirmed. "The hearing of confirmation of charges can go on several weeks and the defence has a right to produce counter-evidence," the experts said.

The confirmation of charges will be the last stage before trial. The hearings will be held in different chambers if the charges are confirmed. "If the charges are not confirmed then there will be no trial," said another legal expert, Gilbert Biti.

Earlier, two PNU ministers and six MPs dismissed calls for Uhuru, Muthaura and Postmaster General Hussein Ali to resign saying they had no reason to do so as the cases against them had not been confirmed.

They said the three public officers will only resign if the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber confirms the cases against them.“Those calling for the resignation of the three officers are prematurely doing so. This matter is still at a very preliminary stage and these charges are yet to be confirmed,” Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi said.

Assistant Minister Kareke Mbiuki and MPs Johnstone Muthama (Kangundo), Ntoitha M’Mithiaru, Peter Kiilu (Makueni), Joseph Gitari (Kirinyaga Central) also attended the press conference with Kiraitu at Parliament Buildings.

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