Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Chiefs collect signatures to support local tribunal

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THE Government has secretly tasked members of the provincial administration to collect signatures in support of a local tribunal to try the Ocampo Six over the post-election violence. All assistant chiefs have been given a form and directed to collect at least 315 signatures each from their areas.

It was not clear how many signatures the government intends to collect but it would likely be the number of sub-locations in the country multiplied by 315.

Chiefs interviewed said their respective DOs issued them with the forms and asked them to return the documents fully filled with names, ID numbers and signatures on Friday. “We were called for a meeting on Wednesday by our DO who gave us the forms and told us it was a directive from the PS Internal Security Francis Kimemia and we must carry out the assignment,” said one of the chiefs who showed the Star some filled forms on Friday. “We were further told that we shall defend ourselves should anyone of us be caught with the forms because of the sensitivity of the matter,” added another chief.

Some of the chiefs admitted forging the names on the forms for fear that taking them to the public, whom they know to support The Hague process, would raise suspicion.

The forms headed “In support of the case for a local tribunal to handle the post-election violence,” do not have the Coat of Arms or a rubber stamp.

While addressing mourners at the burial of Sabatia ODM branch vice chair Hudson Isagi at Chandumba village Vihiga, MPO Yusuf Chanzu said the forms were circulating in his constituency. “It is wrong for the government to use unorthodox means to con Kenyans into signing a petition it intends to use for personal interests. We cannot allow this to happen,” said Chanzu. He said he would take the matter to the floor of the House this week.

This came as Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi asked VP Kalonzo Musyoka to apologise to Kenyans for wasting taxpayer’s money on shuttle diplomacy that cost taxpayers Sh 30 million.

The VP’s mission was to convince African Union member states to petition the UN Security Council to defer the Kenyan case to allow for time to set up a local judicial mechanism to try the Ocampo Six.

Civil society groups are currently collecting a million signatures to support the Hague process. Ocampo has made an application to the pre-trial chambers seeking summonses for the six to appear at The Hague.

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