Photo/FILE ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo speaks during the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation workshop in Nairobi on December 2, 2010.
By MURITHI MUTIGA mmutiga@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, October 4 2011 at 22:30
Posted Tuesday, October 4 2011 at 22:30
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will not file charges against any new suspects over the poll violence despite a fresh move to reopen investigations into the fighting in Kibera and Kisumu.
Attorney-General Githu Muigai told a press conference in The Hague that the prosecutor had told him that he had no evidence linking any figures outside the six at Pre-Trial Chamber Two hearing suspected of crimes against humanity.
Prof Muigai and Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko met Mr Moreno-Ocampo on the penultimate day of hearings that will determine whether the head of Public Service, Mr Francis Muthaura, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Postmaster-General Hussein Ali should face trial.
The first to appear before Pre-Trial Chamber Two were journalist Joshua arap Sang and MPs William Ruto and Henry Kosgey. (READ:ICC ruling will be Christmas gift or curse)
Prof Muigai and Mr Tobiko urged Mr Moreno-Ocampo to share evidence he had gathered to enable Kenyan authorities to file charges at home against more suspects.
That effort does not appear to have borne fruit although Prof Muigai said they had reached agreement on a number of “areas of cooperation”.
“This case is an important opportunity to bring closure (over the post-election violence),” said Prof Muigai. “We had a fruitful meeting and we have agreed on a number of issues.”
The AG said it was vital that the International Criminal Court (ICC) works together with Kenya to speed up action in local courts, which he asserted would minimise the prospects of a recurrence of the violence that claimed 1,133 lives and led to the displacement of more than 650,000 people.
The AG’s and DPP’s visit to The Hague comes two weeks after court registrar Silvana Arbia held meetings in Nairobi with members of a Cabinet sub-committee that handles Kenya’s dealings with the ICC.
The court is seeking to establish an outreach office in Kenya and that might be one of the items on the agenda in discussions with ICC officials this week.
Officers from the prosecutor’s office have also been urging the government to do more to strengthen the witness protection unit in the country.
Prof Muigai said the prosecutor was satisfied with the work the government was doing to take care of witnesses.
“Our primary concern is the safety of Kenyans and I can tell you that both the registrar whom I met in Nairobi and Ocampo are now saying they have no worries about any witness as they have no information of any witness in danger.
“We have acted expeditiously and swiftly whenever we have heard of threats as we did recently in Rift Valley and we can assure you no one is in danger and the court here agrees,” he said.
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