MPs Benjamin Lang'at- Ainamoi (left) and Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany) during a news conference at Parliament Buildings March 25, 2011 where they demanded to know the official party position on International Criminal Court cases. SULEIMAN MBATIAH
By DAVE OPIYO
Posted Friday, March 25 2011 at 14:08
Posted Friday, March 25 2011 at 14:08
A section of ODM legislators allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto have challenged the party’s top leadership to state its actual stand on the post election violence trials.
Even though the MPs - Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany) and Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi)- welcomed the party’s ‘belated about turn’ to have the Ocampo six tried locally, they expressed concern over the mixed signals from the party’s leadership.
“On Tuesday, ODM Secretary General Anyang' Nyong'o said the party had climbed down from having the six tried at the ICC in favour of a credible local judicial mechanism,” the duo said at a news conference in parliament.
“But strangely on Wednesday, Prime Minister Raila Odinga stated that the six should go to the ICC and have their names cleared contradicting the party position which he was party to a day earlier,” they added.
“On Thursday, ODM again contradicted itself as usual with the party’s leadership speaking from both sides of the mouth.”
They said that while 10 MPs led by Deputy Secretary General Joseph Nkaiserry and parliamentary group secretary Ababu Namwamba said the party had resolved to hire lawyers to represent their members mentioned by the ICC, Mr Nyong’o strangely denounced this.
The three are: party chairman Henry Kosgey, deputy party leader William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.
“What then is the official party position on the ICC trials?” they posed. “Who in ODM should be trusted?”
Meanwhile, Mr Sang has cautiously welcomed the move the ODM to hire lawyers to represent him.
In a statement, the radio presenter said he hoped ODM was acting in good faith to retain legal experts for him and MPs Ruto and Kosgey.
"I have already stated that I have limited resources. I welcome any assistance directed at me. I gratefully accept any help that is given to me in good faith and within reason," he said.
He, however, maintained that he was not a member of the Orange party saying he wished to separate party loyalties and his vocation.
"I have never said I am a member of ODM. The question of my party membership is personal.
"As a journalist, I keep issues of my party loyalties personal and separate from my calling and vocation in media."
Through the advise of his lawyers, Katwa Kigen, Joel Bosek and Philemon Koech, Mr Sang denied allegations of his involvement in the post election violence that left 1,133 people dead 650,000 uprooted from their homes.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo named the KASS FM presenter alongside Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali and MPs Ruto and Kosgey as suspected masterminds of the chaos.
"As is already in public knowledge the ICC Prosecutor has made allegations against me to the effect that I was in the year 2007 a member of ODM party, and I continue to be a member. Further that I incited people on post election violence for and on behalf of ODM.
"I deny these allegations," he said.
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