EXPLANATION: LUIS MORENO OCAMPO
On January 22, I gave an interview to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, in which I discussed my former role as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. I responded to a wide range of questions from the Kenyan people about the challenges I faced at that time, and decisions I took in the context of investigating and prosecuting the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya.
However, since the interview was published, certain outlets in the Kenyan media have misused my words to falsely allege that during the course of that interview, I "admitted" that the current Kenya cases at the ICC were "fixed".
Unfortunately, the people of Kenya have been plied with a steady stream of inaccurate and inflammatory media reports, asserting that I "confessed" that Western diplomats "used the ICC to subvert the rights of Kenyans to choose their own leaders democratically". Nothing could be further from the truth.
To avoid any doubt, I would like to correct the public record and state categorically that such claims are incorrect.
During the interview in question, I clearly stated that it was not my role to make any pronouncements on the eligibility of Messrs Uhuru Kenyatta or William Ruto to run for Kenya’s general election. I explained that after the Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed charges against Messrs Kenyatta and Ruto, I flatly refused to be drawn into any discussions on whether they should be barred from contending for the presidential elections in Kenya. Rather, I have publicly and consistently stated that it was the role of Kenya’s own courts to determine who should be eligible to compete in Kenya’s elections. I maintained that it was of course only up to the Kenyan people to choose their leaders.
My interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide was an opportunity for me to set the record straight about how I took decisions when I was the prosecutor of the ICC. As I have always stated, the decisions I took to charge the suspects – in every case, including with respect to the Kenyan cases – were based on my assessment of the evidence available at the time. I followed the evidence and in strict conformity with of the Rome Statute legal framework. However, evidence can change; for example, key witnesses can be threatened and, as a result, they may withdraw their willingness to cooperate with the ICC process. Several other factors may also erode the evidence that a prosecutor collects during their investigation. These are complex issues that the current prosecutor must grapple with. My term as the ICC Prosecutor ended in June 2012, and I am no longer involved in these cases.
To be perfectly clear, my comments to Radio Netherlands Worldwide concerned my refusal to get involved in political matters. I hope Kenyan journalists will publish this clarification and will abstain from repeating inaccuracies about my statement. The people of Kenya, including the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, deserve no less.
This article was provided by The Hague Trials Kenya. Emai thehaguetrialskenya@rnw.org or tweet @HagueTrialsKEN.
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