Ocampo announcement

The International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will Thursday make an "announcement" on the situation regarding Kenya’s post election violence.

The move comes just two days after Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo admitted that the violence witnesses had received threats.

A statement from the ICC Tuesday evening said Ocampo's statement will be made at the ICCs' headquarters in The Hague.

But Mr Moreno Ocampo could not, however, hint at the contents of his statement though he is expected to give the progress made to prosecute those behind the violence that left 1,133 people dead and left 350,000 others homeless.

“The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced today (Tuesday) that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will hold a press conference on Thursday, 26 November at the seat of the ICC in The Hague to make an announcement related to the situation in Kenya," read the statement.

Last week, Mr Moreno-Ocampo asked the violence victims and witnesses to give their accounts to his office before Friday this week.

He said he intends to use the evidence to build his case before the Pre-Trial Chamber, which is to determine whether crimes committed after the 2007 General Election met the ICC threshold.

This is an effort to secure the permission of the three judges picked to assess Kenya’s case to open investigations into the matter. The judges have the choice to accept or reject Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s request.

Once the investigation is open, the prosecutor will dispatch investigators to Kenya to collect evidence and take witness statements.

During his visit to Kenya early this month, Mr Moreno-Ocampo promised that Kenya would provide an “example” for the world on how to prevent crimes.

President Kibaki and Mr Odinga have said Kenya would cooperate with the ICC, but declined to refer the case to it, saying this would project the country as a failed state.

After his three day visit , Mr Ocampo left Kenyans with one clear message; that The Hague process had officially begun.

The ICC prosecutor made his intentions clear, indicating that he was determined “to present two or three cases against those persons considered the most responsible” to the ICC.