The letter, sanctioned by President Kibaki’s principal partner in Government, Prime Minister Raila Odinga will paint the picture to the UN Security Council and the world of a divided Government pulling in different directions based on party and ethnic loyalties, in the race to succeed President Kibaki come 2012.
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It will also severely weaken claims by Kibaki’s side of the Grand Coalition Government that a local judicial mechanism can take over the ICC cases, provide justice to the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election violence and bring closure to a shameful and tragic moment in Kenya’s history.
"The request for a deferral of the Kenyan cases pending before the ICC has been made by one side of the Kenyan coalition government, namely the Party of National Unity headed by President Mwai Kibaki.
The Orange Democratic Movement headed by the Prime Minister Raila Odinga, does not support that request," says ODM.
The petition is signed by Secretary General Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o and lists 16 reasons why the challenge on the ICC process is suspect. Prof Nyong’o was to fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last night to present the petition to the African Union, which nominates member states to the UN Security Council.
Nyong’o’s return from the US where he was treated for cancer appears to have re-energised ODM, in the face of a relentless onslaught against the party led by Eldoret North MP William Ruto and his political ally, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta (Kanu/PNU).
Both have been summoned to The Hague as principal suspects over the violence that followed a disputed presidential election.
Incompetent and frivolousIn the letter, ODM says the fight to have the suspects tried locally is "incompetent and frivolous", and accuses President Kibaki of trying to install a friendly Judiciary and Law Office to clear the six suspects through his recent nominations for the posts of Chief Justice, Attorney General and Deputy Public Prosecutor, which were rejected by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) and House Speaker Kenneth Marende as unconstitutional.
The Orange party says rather than the ICC process endangering local and international peace, deferring the two cases against the Ocampo Six "poses grave danger to Kenya’s internal peace and security".
Nyong’o’s return from the US where he was treated for cancer appears to have re-energised ODM, in the face of a relentless onslaught against the party led by Eldoret North MP William Ruto and his political ally, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta (Kanu/PNU).
Both have been summoned to The Hague as principal suspects over the violence that followed a disputed presidential election.
Incompetent and frivolousIn the letter, ODM says the fight to have the suspects tried locally is "incompetent and frivolous", and accuses President Kibaki of trying to install a friendly Judiciary and Law Office to clear the six suspects through his recent nominations for the posts of Chief Justice, Attorney General and Deputy Public Prosecutor, which were rejected by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) and House Speaker Kenneth Marende as unconstitutional.
The Orange party says rather than the ICC process endangering local and international peace, deferring the two cases against the Ocampo Six "poses grave danger to Kenya’s internal peace and security".
"Local trials are not possible at the moment as there is no national judicial mechanism in place to handle the cases.
There have been no investigations and prosecutions since the crimes were committed more than three years ago.
Moreover, the criminal justice system has not been reformed to enable it to handle the cases. Although Kenya has enacted the International Crimes Act, it is in doubt as to whether Kenyan courts have jurisdiction over the international crimes committed before January 2009 when the Act became operational," says ODM in the petition.
It notes "the fact that the institutions, groups and individuals that were allegedly involved in the planning and execution of the crimes against humanity during the 2007/8 post-election violence in Kenya continue to operate unfettered and occupy important positions of power within and outside Government".
It adds: "Because of the significant positions held in and influence the suspects wield within Government, they are the ones spearheading the deferral request as a means of defeating the cause of justice.
Ultimately, the six suspects the ICC has summoned intend to use the deferral, if granted, as the basis of perpetuating the culture of impunity in Kenya.
The stage is now set for a nasty fight between those battling for and against the International Criminal Court process, and this could jeopardise implementation of the new Constitution, as well as next year’s General Election.
Two of the ICC suspects, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, are appealing to the voters in their political strongholds by alleging The Hague process is a vendetta by Raila to lock them out of the 2012 presidential succession race.
The beneficiaryAs for Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, he is seen by most analysts as trying to position himself to take over Ruto’s and Uhuru’s votes in next year’s presidential race, in case they are formally charged at the ICC, by portraying himself as championing their interests.
The VP has just completed an expensive round of lobbying various UN Security Council members to defer the ICC cases, but suffered a clear setback when the US bluntly refused to back his cause.
The VP says he is optimistic that Kenya’s quest for deferral of ICC case will receive enough support at the United Nation’s Security Council.
Dismissing the notion his expensive shuttling abroad was in vain, Kalonzo said several countries across the world and the entire African continent have registered their willingness to rally behind Kenya.
"Kenya is a respected country globally and the recent shuttle diplomacy we made with my colleagues is not a mission in futility since most UN country representatives we met expressed their willingness to support deferral of the Kenyan case at the ICC," Kalonzo said.
Meanwhile, Raila has lately tried to portray himself and ODM as representing the national interest and search for justice for victims of the post-election violence, many of whom are still in camps for the internally displaced.
Pitching their argument that majority of Kenyans support the ICC process, Raila’s troops have argued that a great majority of Kenyans support the ICC process as the most credible method to fighting the culture of impunity in Kenya.
Other suspectsThe other ICC suspects are Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, Tinderet MP and former Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, Postmaster General and former Police Commissioner Maj Gen (rtd) Hussein Ali and radio journalist Joshua Sang.
President Kibaki has told the UN two of the Ocampo six are presidential frontrunners and allowing the case to proceed would be tantamount to "a power grab".
On Sunday, Ruto alleged that the politically instigated ICC trials would not hamper their efforts to see a generational change of leadership in Kenya.
Ruto urged youthful politicians to soldier on in their quest for fresh blood leadership and ignore what he termed as "political oppressors".
"I pity those who want us to be tried at The Hague. With God’s grace we will be back and find them in the same position they were," he said.
The Eldoret North MP said those pushing to have him and Uhuru tried at The Hague are out to use shortcuts to ascend to power.
But Raila who was in Seme, Kisumu challenged Ocampo six suspects not fears trial.
"If you are innocent, why fear standing before court to clear your name?"
Click here to download the letter by ODM to UN Security Council
Two of the ICC suspects, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, are appealing to the voters in their political strongholds by alleging The Hague process is a vendetta by Raila to lock them out of the 2012 presidential succession race.
The beneficiaryAs for Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, he is seen by most analysts as trying to position himself to take over Ruto’s and Uhuru’s votes in next year’s presidential race, in case they are formally charged at the ICC, by portraying himself as championing their interests.
The VP has just completed an expensive round of lobbying various UN Security Council members to defer the ICC cases, but suffered a clear setback when the US bluntly refused to back his cause.
The VP says he is optimistic that Kenya’s quest for deferral of ICC case will receive enough support at the United Nation’s Security Council.
Dismissing the notion his expensive shuttling abroad was in vain, Kalonzo said several countries across the world and the entire African continent have registered their willingness to rally behind Kenya.
"Kenya is a respected country globally and the recent shuttle diplomacy we made with my colleagues is not a mission in futility since most UN country representatives we met expressed their willingness to support deferral of the Kenyan case at the ICC," Kalonzo said.
Meanwhile, Raila has lately tried to portray himself and ODM as representing the national interest and search for justice for victims of the post-election violence, many of whom are still in camps for the internally displaced.
Pitching their argument that majority of Kenyans support the ICC process, Raila’s troops have argued that a great majority of Kenyans support the ICC process as the most credible method to fighting the culture of impunity in Kenya.
Other suspectsThe other ICC suspects are Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, Tinderet MP and former Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, Postmaster General and former Police Commissioner Maj Gen (rtd) Hussein Ali and radio journalist Joshua Sang.
President Kibaki has told the UN two of the Ocampo six are presidential frontrunners and allowing the case to proceed would be tantamount to "a power grab".
On Sunday, Ruto alleged that the politically instigated ICC trials would not hamper their efforts to see a generational change of leadership in Kenya.
Ruto urged youthful politicians to soldier on in their quest for fresh blood leadership and ignore what he termed as "political oppressors".
"I pity those who want us to be tried at The Hague. With God’s grace we will be back and find them in the same position they were," he said.
The Eldoret North MP said those pushing to have him and Uhuru tried at The Hague are out to use shortcuts to ascend to power.
But Raila who was in Seme, Kisumu challenged Ocampo six suspects not fears trial.
"If you are innocent, why fear standing before court to clear your name?"
Click here to download the letter by ODM to UN Security Council
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