Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Miguna Miguna headed to ICC to brief prosecutors


Miguna Miguna headed to ICC to brief prosecutors

Miguna
Fire-spitting Miguna Miguna, whose new book, Peeling Back The Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya rattled Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his allies, left the country overnight, headed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to brief the prosecutors on his claims linking the premier to war crimes and seek protection, sources told the Jackal News, revelations that might recast events at the first permanent international tribunal.
Others sources said he might then proceed to  his global tour for an international launch of the crimson-red book that has stirred a firestorm in the east African nation, notably by spilling open the intimate secrets within Odinga’s side of the coalition government. “He is headed to the Hague to brief prosecutors and seek protection,” a source explained. It is said that he boarded a KLM flight at JKIA, which would make a stop over in the Netherlands, from where he would proceed to Canada, where he lived in exile for several years after fleeing the regime of retired president Daniel arap Moi.

In Canada, where he has been planning a vacation after launching the book in Kenya, Miguna will launch the book with many Kenyans and friends who live in the North American nation. “For a very long time, he has been planning a vocation in Canada after launching the book,” a source said, dispelling fears that he had fled the country.
This comes a day after Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko ordered police chief Matthew Iteere to record a statement from the former senior advisor to Odinga, after claiming that he had enough evidence that could indict the premier at the International Criminal Court for his role in the 2007/08 post-elections violence that claimed at least 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
In addition, his explosive book accused Odinga and several of his aides of massive corruption.
At the same time, Odinga’s office issued a hard-hitting rejoinder, daring the Canada-trained lawyer to reveal the alleged evidence, warning that withholding such information amounted to impunity.
Miguna, on his part, rubbished both Odinga’s rejoinder and Tobiko’s order, hinting that he could be an ICC witness and thus deserves protection instead of threats. “If Tobiko says I have evidence to give to the ICC, that makes me a potential ICC witness. Now, under the witness protection act, my identity and the nature of evidence I have cannot be disclosed.”
“Tobiko’s and Iteere job would be to PROTECT me, not THREATEN me. Any responsible prosecutor worth his salt would never threaten a witness. He would never release the name of such an important witness to the media and demand that he gives a statement to the police. A threatened witness cannot be helpful to any prosecutor.”
“Moreover, they cannot force me to give them evidence. Instead of approaching discreetly and professionally like a competent prosecutor, he’s playing politics to the gallery. And he’s at the behest of Raila. That’s despicable,” said Miguna, who wile launching his book on Saturday, claimed he had evidence to fix many politicians at the ICC. At subsequent TV interviews, he claimed the he had evidence that if accepted at the ICC, would indict Odinga.
So far, the ICC has successfully indicted Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, ex-civil service chief Francis Muthaura, lawmaker William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang. Their trials are scheduled to start in April next year; months after Kenya hold its presidential elections, the first under the new constitution. Interestingly, if Odinga is indicted, he would join Kenyatta and Ruto as the presidential candidates facing the international tribunal.
On Monday, he claimed that his life was in danger., hinting that the threats came from Odinga’s allies.
Odinga’s personal assistant Caroli Omondi, portrayed as a corrupt dog who allegedly bought Nairobi’s Heron Court Hotel using funds of dubious sources, instructed his lawyer, the litigious George Oraro, to institute criminal libel proceedings against Miguna and the Nation Media Group that serialized the book.
Over the weekend, Capital FM reported that Miguna was scheduled to start an international tour to market his book, the most explosive memoir since John Githongo, the former anti-graft advisor in President Mwai Kibaki’s office, unleashed his chronicles, It’s Our Time To Eat, exposing how ministers and Kibaki allies swam in a sea of graft. He fled to the United Kingdom, where he was admitted as a fellow in the St Antony’s College, part of the prestigious Oxford University, where most dissidents seek asylum.

No comments:

Post a Comment