The hearings are to determine if there are sufficient grounds to charge the six with the crimes they are accused of by International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
The revelations sparked a disagreement between the governments of Kenya and The Netherlands, with the latter insisting on sticking to international law and precedence by treating the six as "high risk personalities" and issuing them with "special passes" instead of normal visas.
The Government has threatened to block the six from travelling to The Netherlands unless they receive visas. If unresolved by the time of their scheduled court appearance next week, the standoff could trigger the issuing of arrest warrants for them by the ICC judges.
The Dutch want the Government to adhere to precedence regarding suspects summoned to The Hague. Though not under arrest, and despite not having been formally charged, they want the six to get special passes that severely limits their movements once in The Hague. Once at the court, they are to be bonded to ensure they attend future hearings. If the Dutch stick to their guns, things could get worse. For most of the suspects used to a fancy and comfortable lifestyle, with staff at their beck and call and access to the best, there would be no special favours. Once they step off the plane and onto the tarmac at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, armed special police would quickly whisk them away to a secret and secure location assigned by the court for the duration of their stay.
The location is confidential and considered an extension of the court. This precedent was set when Bahr Idriss Abu Garda of the Zadhawa tribe of Sudan received summons to appear before the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I. He was accused of war crimes in Darfur, Sudan and later charged on three counts.
As in the case of the Ocampo Six, the judges were satisfied he would appear before the court without need an arrest warrant. There were no travel restrictions placed on him. Abu Garda has since been charged with three counts of war crimes allegedly committed in a September 29, 2007, against the African Union’s peace-keeping mission in North Darfur in which 12 soldiers died and eight others were wounded.
Guests of ambassador
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| The six ICC suspects head to The Hague next week |
The six are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Francis Muthaura, Postmaster General Maj-Gen (Rtd) Ali Mohammed, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Tinderet MP, Henry Kosgey, and Kass FM radio presenter Joshua arap Sang. "What the Dutch Government had communicated to Kenya is that we are supposed to be picked from the airport under armed guard and taken straight to our hotel," added one of the six, who requested anonymity. All the six suspects are said to have protested the move through their lawyers. The Standard was informed that the ICC had written to the lawyers of the six assuring them their travel arrangements would be facilitated.
"Today our lawyers have just told
us that the ICC has written to them assuring
us that we shall get the visas
and our movements will not be restricted,"
added one of the six.
Yesterday, the ICC told The Standard
it was not aware of plans to restrict the movement of the six when they arrive in The Netherlands. "The six individuals in question are free to make their own arrangements in The Netherlands, and will not be escorted to their hotel by security" said ICC Associate Legal Outreach Officer, Jelena Vukasinovic. She said the six are supposed to make their own arrangement and "will simply have to turn up at the Court at the appropriate date and time," where they would be bonded. Vukasinovi also said that the court had received Sang’s request for aid to travel to The Hague.
"The Court has just received the application of Mr Sang for legal aid and we are liaising with his lawyers to ensure that all information needed to make a prompt determination is provided by Mr Sang. If Mr Sang is deemed indigent the legal and other fees connected with his initial appearance would be covered," she said. The Standard has learnt that Kosgey placed his application for a visa on December 17, but to date he has not been issued with one. His aides said the Dutch Embassy in Nairobi informed him the processing of the visa would take about three days but he is yet to get it.
On Tuesday, the embassy said nobody had applied for a visa to travel to The Netherlands in connection with the ICC cases against the six individuals. But 35 MPs allied to Uhuru and Ruto claimed to have applied for visas to accompany the six.
It has emerged that in typical Kenyan fashion, the MPs left it to the last-minute to file their applications, hence the delay. According to a covering letter by the Clerk of the National Assembly Patrick Gichohi to the Dutch Embassy, the MPs are seeking to be granted visas to accompany their colleagues to The Hague.
The First Secretary (Political) at the Dutch Embassy, Camilla Veerman confirmed receipt of the request by the 35 MPs yesterday, as well as another travel request for 43 people from the Kenya Embassy at The Hague.
43 PEOPLE
"We have received a list of 43 people from the Kenyan Embassy at The Hague and they include MPs and other individuals," she added.
Veerman noted that as host country to the ICC, they were duty-bound to facilitate travel arrangements for those with matters before the court. "We are the host country to ICC and we want to be supportive," she added. The embassy official noted the embassy was working to ensure those travelling get their visas on time.
"I can assure you we are processing the visas and they would be issued on request," she added.
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