Saturday, March 26, 2011

Post-poll violence trial was always going to stir passions

Posted  Friday, March 25 2011 at 22:20

Saturday Nation spoke to Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s special advisor, Mr Salim Lone, on the party wrangles, trial of post-election violence suspects and the 2012 elections. Below are excerpts:
How is Mr Odinga handling the fall-out with former allies over his stand on ICC trials?
The PM’s position on the ICC has always been very clear — that the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity must be sought and charged in a court of law. He wanted these trials to be conducted in a local tribunal, not by the ICC. This was reflected in his many attempts to urge the Cabinet and Parliament to approve a local tribunal.
The PM’s position on the trial of suspects by a local tribunal or the ICC was not taken with a view to whether it would strengthen or weaken him politically. As with the Mau restoration, his stance was taken on principle, and Kenya’s long-term interests.
Can he still recapture the support he enjoyed in 2007?
I am confident that as the elections near, a number of politicians will return to the PM and ODM.
Historically, MPs in Kenya who do not have strong political convictions and have gravitated towards those who might benefit them begin to reassess their positions in the light of how the voters will treat them at the polls.
The PM has more support than his three competitors combined. He remains the most popular politician in Kenya by far.
Has the difference in opinion on ICC cases created a wedge between the PM and the President?
I am not aware that he has lost the support of the President. The PM has respectfully refrained from taking public issue with the President on the deferral.
Some opponents have accused Mr Odinga of using the ICC to eliminate opponents in the 2012 elections.
If the trials for crimes against humanity were beginning under a local tribunal, those accused would be saying the PM was using the tribunal to eliminate political opponents.
The defendants’ best strategy would be to focus on defending themselves. They are innocent until otherwise proved, and this is a meticulously independent and fair court. The dissent by Judge Kaul, and the reduction of important charges by the pre-trial chamber, amply attests to that.
What are your views on the deferral campaign at the SC?
The letter to the Security Council from our Permanent Representative at the United Nations must have scared some of the delegates. The letter’s nightmare scenario of a destabilised country and a return to violence and loss of life portrayed Kenya and Kenyans in the worst possible light.
It is known that the overwhelming majority of Kenyans support The Hague process.

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