PM ON ICC

Somebody will have to take responsibility for the deaths of more than 1,300 people in the post election violence of 2008, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said today.
Mr Odinga said punishment for the masterminds of post-election violence would not only end impunity but also the culture of regimes forming commissions to investigate injustices only to refuse to implement recommendations of those commissions.
Addressing Kenyans living in the city of Dubai today, Mr Odinga said that even if the six suspects so far named by the ICC are found to be innocent, the country would still need to find out who killed people.
“If it is not the six, then it must be some other people and Kenyans deserve to know,” Mr Odinga said.
The PM said the murders in Kenya appeared to have been coordinated and well-planned, otherwise they would not have claimed so many lives.
“Killing 1,300 people is not an easy or simple task. In Egypt, they had protests that went on for about two months. So far, only 300 people have been found to have been killed and minister has been charged in court over their death. In Libya, where President Gadaffi is bombing his own citizens, the death toll stands at around 500. Something very serious must have been committed in Kenya to lead to the death of 1,300 people,” Odinga said.
The PM said he is prepared to face charges, if he is found to have been behind the murders, saying the blood of the victims cried for justice.
“We cannot stand up as a civilized country and say that nobody killed the 1,300 people. These murders must have been systematic and organized, otherwise they would not have claimed so many lives. If Raila is found to have organized them, I am prepared to face trial,” he said.
He said the changed times have caught up with those who use violence to settle political scores, recalling that election violence has taken place in Kenya since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in 1990s.
“In 2008, a commission was established to investigate this violence, just like we did in 1997 when we formed the Akiwumi Commission. The only difference this time round is that while the recommendations of the Akiwumi Commission were never implemented, this time, the country has no option but to implement the findings of the Waki Commission.”
Mr Odinga said he has been the victim of attacks in the search for justice and the truth over post election chaos.
He recalled that when he championed the formation of a local tribunal to try the suspects, he was accused of abandoning the youth particularly in the Rift Valley who had voted for him.
“They rejected the local tribunal and accused me of turning my backs on youths. That time, they said a local tribunal would only net the small fish. They chose The Hague, and now that The Hague has named names, they are turning around to say it is Raila and we want a local tribunal,” Mr Odinga said.
The PM is in the United Arab Emirates for a conference on Education Without Borders and will return to the country on Wednesday.