The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday warned that anyone tampering with witnesses in the Kenyan cases will be prosecuted March 5, 2012. FILE
By KEVIN KELLEY in New York
Posted Tuesday, March 6 2012 at 16:23
Posted Tuesday, March 6 2012 at 16:23
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday warned that anyone tampering with witnesses in the Kenyan cases will be prosecuted.
At a press conference at UN headquarters in New York, Luis Moreno-Ocampo acknowledged that the Hague trial of the four charged Kenyans “probably will be delayed for some months” due to the appeal they have filed.
“We are concerned about protection of witnesses in Kenya," Mr Moreno-Ocampo added.
“There are individuals trying to expose the identity of people. We will investigate them and we will put them in jail. We will do that.”
Asked whether the ICC has paid too much attention to crimes in Africa, he cited the Kenyan cases as well as those involving Congolese, Sudanese and Ugandans, and insisted “you cannot tell me they are wrong".
He recalled that in the 1990s, “the world had ignored African victims.”
“In this building,” he added, “the world had ignored the Rwandan genocide. No one had known about the Congo wars.”
“I will not make the same mistake,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo declared. “I will prosecute those who commit the crimes in Africa.”
“Being African is not an alibi to kill Africans.”
The prosecutor, who is due to leave office in June after nine years, predicted that “it is a matter of time” until Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and other Sudanese leaders are made to answer charges of crimes against humanity.
“They will face justice,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo vowed. “The question is how many people will die” before then.
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