Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka (second right) introduces President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute Christian Wenaweser (right) to Higher Education minister Hellen Sambili (left) and Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei at the UN Headquarters in New York on March 10, 2011. A State Department official said the US does not agree with the approach being taken by the Kenyan government in hopes of shielding the Ocampo six from ICC action. Photo/VPPS
By NATION Team newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, March 10 2011 at 22:00
Posted Thursday, March 10 2011 at 22:00
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka’s shuttle diplomacy ran into serious trouble on Thursday after the US State Department said it would oppose moves to postpone Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court.
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The announcement was made soon after Mr Musyoka met in Washington on Wednesday with Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. (Read: Kalonzo mission fails to woo US)
And the Orange party on Thursday announced that it will review its position in the coalition government over the decision to challenge the Hague cases. (Read: ODM disowns move to challenge Hague cases)
A State Department official told the Nation that “we do not support a UN Security Council resolution to defer the ICC Kenya investigation.”
The vice president had held talks with representatives of other Security Council member-states in New York on Monday.
He sought their support for a one-year suspension of the International Criminal Court’s cases against six Kenyans accused of orchestrating the violence following the 2007 elections.
Without US backing, Kenya has little chance of gaining the council’s approval for the proposed deferral.
Mr Musyoka declined on Wednesday evening to comment on the outcome of his visit to New York and Washington.
The State Department official added in an e-mail message to the Nation that the US does not agree with the approach being taken by the Kenyan government in hopes of shielding the six from ICC action.
“We do not believe that deferral of the Kenya proceedings would help maintain or restore international peace and security,” the State Department official wrote on Wednesday.
“As we have consistently stated,” the official added, “it is critical that perpetrators of Kenya’s post-election violence be held accountable to end the country’s culture of impunity.”
The State Department official said Kenya can ask the court to halt the cases against the six if Kenya itself moves to prosecute those named in the ICC summonses issue.
In Nairobi, the Cabinet met for the first time after the ICC issued summonses to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Civil Service Head Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Hussein Ali, suspended Cabinet ministers William Ruto and Henry Kosgey and radio announcer Joshua Sang.
A dispatch released after the meeting indicated that the matter was not discussed and the Cabinet focused on the Sports Bill.
At the ICC, an official told the Nation that the court will treat those summoned to appear in court on April 7 as “free men” and they will not be “processed” at all. (Read: Suspects to appear as ‘free men’)
They will report to the Pre-trial Chamber, not the detention facility and they will neither be finger-printed nor have their rights read to them.
In the party scene, sharp differences between the Orange Democratic Party and the Party of National Unity played out in the open.
While PNU supported the government’s move to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction and have the cases postponed, ODM opposed the move and announced that the party will hold a meeting of its top decision making body to deliberate on its position in the Grand Coalition government.
The six Kenyan post-election violence suspects might have to wait until August or later for the process of confirming their charges begin, the International Criminal Court said on Thursday.
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Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka (second right) introduces President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute Christian Wenaweser (right) to Higher Education minister Hellen Sambili (left) and Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei at the UN Headquarters in New York on March 10, 2011. A State Department official said the US does not agree with the approach being taken by the Kenyan government in hopes of shielding the Ocampo six from ICC action. Photo/VPPS
By NATION Team newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, March 10 2011 at 22:00
Posted Thursday, March 10 2011 at 22:00
In a series of video clips released on Thursday, the court said it will take four to seven months after the six’s initial appearance on April 7, for the process to start.
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At the hearing, they will receive the evidence that Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo intends to rely on. (Read: ICC: Next steps on Ocampo Six)
The ICC officials also said that the document on the charges against the six will be presented to the judges 30 days before the hearings can begin.
“After the initial appearance that shall take place on April 7, we start the process leading to the confirmation of charges.
“This process may take several months. I would say from four to seven month but may be more depending on the complexity of the cases or the challenges which can bring the different teams,” Mr Gilbert Bitti, Senior Legal Officer, Pre-Trial Division.
He added that the initial appearance on April 7 will be followed with the “Process of Disclosure” where the prosecutor will have to give the defence teams the evidence he has collected and wants to rely on for the confirmation of charges.
According to Mr Bitti, the six suspects will be allowed to give evidence and call witnesses during the confirmation of charges hearings which could last between one and seven weeks.
The prosecutor, he added, will be required to give evidence that will ensure there are “substantial grounds to believe” that the suspects actually committed the crimes.
“The confirmation of charges is the last stage before the trial. If the charges are confirmed, those persons will be sent to trial before a different chamber composed of three different judges,” said Mr Bitti.
His colleague, Mr Mohamed El Zeidy, added that like in the case of Jean-Pierre Bemba in 2009, the judges may adjourn the hearing and ask the prosecutor to reconsider the mode of his charges.
At the time the pre-trial chamber asked the prosecutor to reconsider the mode of liability in the case.
Ms Eleni Chaitidou, a Pre-Trial Division Legal Officer said that the proceedings would not lead the judges in deciding on the innocence or guilt of the six.
The decision of the judges, she said, will be whether or not the prosecutor has assembled enough evidence to support the charges which he is going to present against those suspects.
“The judges will decide on whether it is okay to go to trial. The judges will have a filter function where they will filter the good cases from the bad cases,” said Ms Chaitidou.
The ICC officials also said that the six suspects will be free to return to Kenya on April 7 after the charges have been read out to them.
Mr Bitti said that judges will on the same day announce the first day of the confirmation of charges hearing and this is when they will be required to go back to The Hague.
The official also said that the six are “technically not accused” as they will only be if the charges against them are confirmed.
However, he added that they have all the rights of the accused including having defence lawyers and right to have enough time to prepare their defence.
“The six persons are for now not indicted for the very simple reason that indictment does not exist in the system and procedures of the Rome Statutes,” said Mr Bitti.
He added that the government was free to challenge the admissibility of the cases since the six suspects had been summoned.
“However, this challenge must be based on actual national proceedings and prosecutions of the same persons on the same cases.
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“You can challenge the admissibility of cases based on future proceedings before a court yet to be established,” said Mr Bitti.
The officials were speaking on a video series known as ‘Ask the Court’ launched on Thursday by the Outreach Unit of the ICC.
Reported by Oliver Mathenge and Kevin J Kelley, Bernard Namunane and Lucas Barasa
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