By Gakuu Mathenge
As the nation was keenly following proceedings at The Hague for the first three suspects, the defence teams of the other trio were burning the midnight oil in preparation for their turn.
Top on the agenda, sources say, defence teams for Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service, Francis Muthaura, and former Police Commissioner, Hussein Ali, say they plan to challenge Mungiki link to their clients.
Instead, they plan to argue the sect was closer to the Orange Democratic Movement than Party of National Unity (PNU) in 2007.
By pinning the Mungiki sect on ODM, the suspects hope to use the party led by Prime Minister Raila to ran away from the ICC charges that their clients used the sect to execute retaliation attacks in Naivasha and Nakuru.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s case against the three is premised on the existence of command and control militia structures, allegedly headed, funded, equipped and co-ordinated by Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali.
Moreno-Ocampo also alleges that the Mungiki militia members were issued with police uniforms and arms at State House, Nairobi, before being deployed to Naivasha in military trucks.
Uhuru, Muthaura and Hussein Ali allegedly outsourced elements of the proscribed Mungiki sect to carry out retaliation attacks on ODM supporters in early 2008 in Naivasha and Nakuru.
According to the prosecutor’s evidence documents released to defence lawyers on August 19, he claimed that the trio planned to keep PNU in power using Mungiki gangs.
"Uhuru Kenyatta, and Hussein Ali pursued an organisation policy to keep PNU in power," Moreno-Ocampo says.
The 40-page document released by Moreno-Ocampo on August 19, states, "The attacks in Naivasha were launched in a well organised, planned and co-ordinated manner on the morning of January 27, 2008"
Moreno-Ocampo claims 162 Mungiki members detailed to execute the attacks were mobilised through text messages requesting them to report to secret locations in Nairobi.
The Prosecutor claims Citi Hoppa buses were used to ferry them to State House
through secret routes.
Upon arrival, a Mungiki leader "in the presence of senior Government officials " allegedly addressed them.
Transported
"Mungiki members were then transported from State House to Naivasha in the backs of military trucks by men wearing Kenya Army uniforms," Moreno-Ocampo alleges.
"Ocampo’s task is to make a convincing case about Mungiki association with the trio. But this will be an uphill task given the history of Mungiki sect and Kibaki administration," a source close to the defence teams says.
However, senior counsel, Paul Muite says the ICC proceedings rely on evidence and political posturing will not work.
"Proceedings at the ICC are legal and will be decided on the basis of the law. Continued political posturing and utterances are unhelpful to suspects," Muite said.
The defence teams plan to use UN Special Rapportuer, Philip Alston’s report on extra-judicial killings of Mungiki sect members by the Government between 2006-2007. The killings were blamed on Kenya Police then headed by Ali.
The damning report made public in Nairobi in February 2009 split the Coalition Government, resulting in PNU and ODM sending parallel teams to the UN Human Rights Council.
PNU team opposed adoption of the recommendations in the report, but ODM supported full implementation.
Shortly after the adoption of the Prof Alston’s report by the UN Human Rights Commission, Mungiki leader, Maina Njenga, was released from King’ong’o Maximum Prison.
On arrival in Nairobi, Njenga was received into the city’s Jesus is Alive Ministries of televangelist and Assistant Minister Margaret Wanjiru.
Reverend Wanjiru is ODM MP for Starehe. Mungiki sect fell out with the Kibaki administration over a crack down that left about 3,000 sect members dead or missing. The face of the crack down was then Internal Security minister John Michuki. But the executers were special police squads commanded from Vigilance House, Nairobi.
However, Moreno-Ocampo suggests the sect seems to have mended fences with the Government during a meeting alleged to have taken place at State House, on November 27, 2007.
Denying State House link with Mungiki, Presidential Press Service termed the report, "reckless, baseless and untrue".
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