SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION ODM Parliamentary Group secretary-general Ababu Namwamba and other members leave after addressing journalists at Parliament Buildings on March 24, 2011. Party leaders are split over plans to hire lawyers for it’s members scheduled to appear at the International Criminal Court next month.
By PETER LEFTIE pmutibo@ke.nationmedia.com AND BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Friday, March 25 2011 at 22:00
Posted Friday, March 25 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- MPs give contradicting accounts of decisions reached at party meeting as ODM rift widens
Fresh details are emerging on the proposal to hire lawyers for three ODM members summoned to The Hague.
Saturday Nation has established that the proposal was raised and endorsed on Tuesday at the party’s National Executive Council-cum-Parliamentary Group meeting chaired by Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Sources who attended the meeting said the proposal was floated by Mr Ababu Namwamba and seconded by Water Minister Charity Ngilu and Nominated MP Musa Sirma, among others.
“Mr Namwamba reasoned that it was good to embrace our friends who voted for us during the last elections so that we demonstrate that the party has not abandoned them at their hour of need as PNU is trying to portray it,” the source said.
This was corroborated by Mr Sirma in a separate interview.
“We said we want to help them; even if they don’t want to come back to the party, we will have done our best. We felt that the reason why they were running away is because President Kibaki has promised to foot their legal fees and we said let us set an example by using our own resources, not taxpayers money, to foot the legal fees.”
Mr Sirma said the decision was endorsed unanimously and wondered why the ODM secretary-general, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, was opposing it.
“The Prime Minister had no problem with the suggestion. Ababu is the one who started, I spoke and Ngilu also spoke. I do not remember anybody opposing the suggestion,” he said.
Political gimmick
Among those who are said to have spoken in favour of the proposal were Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim and Fisheries Minister Amason Kingi.
On Thursday, deputy secretary-general Joseph Nkaissery and Mr Namwamba, who is the Parliamentary Group secretary, announced plans to hire lawyers and to sponsor a Bill to set up a local tribunal to try the suspects.
Also present at the press conference was Msambweni MP Omar Zonga, assistant minister Margaret Kamar, Cabinet ministers Franklin Bett and Mohammed Elmi and MPs Joyce Laboso, Dhadho Godana and Rachael Shebesh.
Mrs Ngilu was present but left before the press conference started.
But in a separate interview, Gwasi MP John Mbadi, a close ally of the PM, disowned the plans to hire lawyers for Mr William Ruto, Mr Henry Kosgey and Mr Joshua Sang.
“That is news to me, I’m not aware of such an issue, if it is there, it is not the party position, it must be an individual’s decision,” he stated.
This came barely two days after the party voted for a local tribunal to try the suspects, despite writing to the UN Security Council opposing PNU’s request for a deferral and referral of the cases.
“The Prime Minister and ODM have always talked of a referral, which is only possible if a local mechanism that does not shield anybody or group of people is in place,” Lands Minister James Orengo said.
But Belgut MP Charles Keter dismissed it as a gimmick to woodwink Rift Valley voters.
“They have been accusing Attorney-General Amos Wako of working to challenge the cases and now this. This is doublespeak, which does not add up.
“They are either playing to their master’s tune or they want to hoodwink the people on the ground that they defended their leaders at The Hague. That is why I disagree with them,” he said.
Sources revealed that ODM’s sudden change of heart on the ICC cases could have been influenced by last week’s announcement by the police that they were reviewing cases reported during the violence and were likely to take at least 6,000 suspects to court.
There has been increased police activity in the Rift Valley, Nyanza and Nairobi provinces, where most of the offences were committed.
Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said they were anticipating a local tribunal to try the suspects.
Mr Kiraithe said among the crimes being investigated are murder, rape and arson.
“We’ve a lot of evidence and it has always been updated. The cases have been pending because the prosecutions are supposed be done by a special tribunal, as recommended in the Waki report,” he said.
Chief Public Prosecutor Keriako Tobiko said early in the week a list of all prosecutions and pending cases would be handed to the AG by close of business on Friday.
“There is a team compiling that list in conjunction with the police. It will be ready for submission to the Attorney General on Friday. I cannot give you the figures because they are likely to be in conflict with what the team is compiling; so wait until Friday,” he said on phone.
A source at the AG’s office said last evening that they had not received the report.
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