Kibaki to pitch deferral of Hague cases to UN boss

President Kibaki and UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon at the UN headquarters in New York, USA on September 25, 2009. On Wednesday, sources close to the Office of the President said Mr Kibaki would discuss the deferral with Mr Ban. Photo/ FILE

By NATION REPORTERS
Posted  Wednesday, March 30 2011 at 22:29

President Kibaki will on Thursday ask the United Nations boss Ban Ki-moon to support the bid to defer the cases against the Ocampo Six.

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Mr Ban, who arrived in the country on Wednesday evening, will also meet Prime Minister Raila Odinga — who is opposed to the request.

“The visiting UN secretary-general will hold bilateral talks with President Kibaki at Harambee House in the morning,” said the Presidential Press Services.

The PM’s adviser, Mr Salim Lone, said the PM would meet Mr Ban on his own.

“The PM will discuss the reforms including the implementation of the new Constitution. He is likely to raise the challenge that Kenya and the coalition government face, not necessarily the deferrals,” he said.

Mr Ban is in the country until Saturday for a meeting of heads of UN agencies.

The visit comes against the backdrop of efforts to convince the UN Security Council to ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend the cases against the suspects for a year to pave the way for a local mechanism to try the suspects.

The ICC has summoned Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, Mr William Ruto, Mr Henry Kosgey, Mr Francis Muthaura, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali and Mr Joshua Sang to The Hague for an initial appearance on April 7 and April 8 on charges related to the post-election violence.

On Wednesday, sources close to the Office of the President said Mr Kibaki would discuss the deferral with Mr Ban.

“It is a matter that definitely will come up when the President informs the UN secretary-general about the reforms that have so far been taken,” said the source.

They will be meeting seven days after Kenya’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, Mr Macharia Kamau, for the second time, wrote to the Security Council seeking a deferral of the trials.