One of the suspects, Postmaster General and former Police Commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali arrived here Tuesday, and the remaining five are expected today in chilly weather, with temperatures averaging below three degrees Celsius.
The six arrive under the sting of a warning by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to politicians to refrain from hate speech that could incite violence.
The warning follows a similar message to the Ocampo Six by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to control the language used in their rallies.
Preparations to host the six at the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) were finalised, even as the UN Security Council scheduled a formal meeting for Friday to discuss the Kenya Government’s request for a deferral of the two post-election chaos cases.
Yesterday, the Pre-Trial Chamber II made final preparation to receive the Kenyan suspects. They are Ali, Eldoret North MP William Samoei Ruto, Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Kass FM radio presenter Joshua arap Sang, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, and Tinderet MP, Henry Kiprono Kosgey.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo wants them tried as key perpetrators of crimes against humanity committed during the post-election violence that followed the 2007 General Election.
The ICC judges also issued a ruling on an application filed by Kenya to challenge the cases. The judges refused to allow the Government to address the court when the Ocampo Six make their appearance, but instead asked lawyers for the Government to prepare written submissions that they should present before April 28.
Lawyers for the Ocampo six were yesterday busy at the ICC headquarters, where they were served with letters. They were assured the rights of their clients would not be violated as they make their first appearance before the judges of the court tomorrow and Friday.
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| Lawyers Evans Monari and Ken Ogeto representing former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali arrive at The Hague, Tuesday. [PHOTO: JOHN MATUA] |
In preparation for the large number of Kenyans expected to visit the court on Thursday and Friday, the ICC reserved 70 seats in the gallery.
ICC officials at The Hague said the seats would be for Kenyans who are expected to accompany the six.
Ali was the first to arrive at The Hague. He left Kenya on an early morning flight yesterday. The other five individuals and MPs who plan to travel to The Hague in support were expected to leave the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 10pm last night, on a Kenya Airways flight to Amsterdam.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) indicated it would hold a formal meeting to discuss Kenya’s request for a deferral of the cases.
According to the timetable of the UNSC, the meeting would be held on Friday when Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali make their appearance before the ICC. Ruto, Kosgey, and make their appearance tomorrow.
Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Macharia Kamau yesterday said Kenya’s plan to stop the ICC cases through diplomatic means through the UN are still on.
"The Government’s request for deferral remains alive in the UNSC and may very well get a positive response," he said in a statement.
The acting Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Patrick Wamoto told The Standard the request by Kenya was now coming up for a formal discussion, which will precede the council vote.
"What happened before was an informal discussion, but it has now reached a formal level. Our Ambassador will make a formal presentation to the Security Council on Friday," he said.
Wamoto said that the ambassador would, among other things, inform the UN about the progress of judicial reforms.
"There have been many developments even after the initial presentation of our request, including selecting a Chief Justice, new judges, and Director of Public Prosecutions," he said.
The developments on the diplomatic front came as the ICC judges also ruled on the application filed by two British lawyers on behalf of Kenya to challenge the cases on grounds of admissibility.
The judges dealt a blow to the Government when they denied it an opportunity to address the court on tomorrow and Friday when the six appear.
The decision by the judges came hours before Attorney General Amos Wako, Solicitor-General, Wanjuki Muchemi, and Deputy Public Prosecutor, Keriako Tobiko, left yesterday for The Hague.
In its application before the Chambers, the Government had filed a request with the ICC to hand over reports on post-election violence in readiness for a local process scheduled to start by September.
The Government promises that within six months a local tribunal would be established to try post-election violence suspects.
The Government said the circumstances, which obtained when the Pre-Trial Chamber authorised investigations in March last year have since changed.
But yesterday, the three ICC judges Ekaterina Trendaflova, Hans-Peter Kaul, and Cuno Tarfusser said they could not grant the Government a chance to appear before them on either April 7 and 8, as it is not a party to the criminal proceedings against the suspects.
At The Hague yesterday, Maj-Gen (rtd) Ali’s lawyers, Ken Ogeto and Evans Monari said he had received a letter from the Office of the Registrar of the ICC assuring him that his client would not be placed under any restrictions.
Free to move
"The registrar has given us a letter showing that our client is free to move around and will walk to ICC where he is expected to appear for the confirmation of charges," Monari said.
The lawyers, who arrived at The Hague on Monday, attended several meetings with ICC officials before they received the letters.
"The hearing is being held to verify the identity of the suspects and to ensure that they have been informed of the crimes, which they are alleged to have committed as well as their rights under the Rome Statute," says a statement posted on the court website.
The proceedings of the appearance would be held in open session and the ICC has arranged for a live stream that TV stations can beam to their viewers.
Kenyan journalists, representing various media houses, are at The Hague to cover the appearance of the Ocampo Six.
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