Raila dismisses ‘UK Dossier’ as forgery

Written By:Lillian Waqngari/KBC Reporter,    Posted: Sun, Mar 11, 2012

The prime minister in a statement said the two should stop declaring their innocence from the roof tops. The ruling at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Ocampo four continues eliciting reactions across the board. Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the four cannot become innocent through public grand standing criticizing the prayer campaigns that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto have been holding in the recent past. The prime minister in a statement said the two should stop declaring their innocence from the roof tops. "Crimes against humanity are worse than murder. Yet these suspects of crimes against humanity remain free to traverse the country holding ‘prayer meetings'-while Kenyan suspects of the lesser crime of murder conduct their prayers only behind the forbidding walls of kamiti maximum security prison often for years before their cases are heard." Raila has termed the purported dossier in parliament concerning the UK as fake aimed at mudslinging him. On Friday, the UK refuted claims that it is behind a conspiracy to have President Mwai Kibaki indicted at The Hague once his term ends. In a statement the British High Commission dismissed documents tabled in Parliament on Thursday by Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo  revealing alleged elaborate plans to also have Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North Mp William Ruto arrested by the ICC. The Commission said the documents were not genuine saying they are  meant to strain relations between the two countries ahead of the elections. "The policy of Her Majesty's Government is not to comment on leaked documents. However, having seen copies of the documents in question, we would like to assure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that these are not genuine," said the statement. "Evidence of this includes both the misleading and implausible content and a plethora of spelling and grammatical mistakes." Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim stopped debate on the document and ruled that for such a debate to proceed, a substantive motion should be presented to parliament three days before debate. Kilonzo claimed that the document was obtained from the British government and claimed that the plot was part of a wider scheme that brought the UK's Foreign Secretary to Kenya. The UK has termed the allegations as a smear campaign. "We are concerned that this is a smear campaign which aims to destabilise our bilateral relations and to damage the political atmosphere ahead of the Kenyan elections," the statement from the High Commission said. It said the UK "has no interest in any particular outcome in the General Election and is not backing any particular candidates or parties." The house after the tabling of the document engaged in a heated debate with members protesting the speaker's ruling which bars members from discussing the conduct of a Head of State or any State officer of a friendly state. Legislators Bonny Khalwale, Harun Mwau, Nassir Nuh, Chalres Keter and Adan Duale led the onslaught demanding that Foreign Affairs Minister MosesWetangula states the government position in the wake of the revelations. While delivering a ministerial statement on UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague's visit to Kenya early last Month, Wetangula said the ICC issue and the eligibility of Uhuru  and Ruto to run for presidency were never discussed. Elsewhere information minister Samuel Poghisio says Friday's ruling might change the political scenario urging for peace throughout the ICC process. Poghisio called for sobriety as the ICC process takes its course and called upon leaders to preach peace and avoid sour topics while addressing the masses as the country prepares to go to the polls.