The financers and the organizers of Kenyan post-election violence should be tried at ICC The Hague-Netherlands.

By Rev Okoth Otura

February 13th, 2009

The Christian Democratic Movement of Kenya (CDM-K) has resolved to back the resolution to charge post-election violence proprietors at The Hague.

This resolution was reached upon after serious consultative meetings of the CDM-K board held in Toronto, chaired by Rev. Okoth Otura, and attended by CDM-K officials, Barry Onyango ,Grace Holla, Deborah Cooper and William Oduor (via Teleconference in Denmark).

CDM-K therefore wishes to urge Kenyan president, Mwai Kibaki, and the prime minister, Raila Odinga to stop interfering with the democratic process in the parliamentary voting pattern by applying old fashioned dictatorial ideology of threatening, and bribing their MP's to vote against their conscience.

It is imprudent for foreign envoys in Kenya to join the chorus in urging Kenyan MP's to back the Local Tribunal considering the corrupt justice system that even their own governments have criticized before, and not forgetting the economic crimes, human rights violations, assassinations and mass killings by the Kenyan government which have never been resolved.

Since Kenya got it's independence in 1963, the Kenyan government has massacred and assassinated thousands of her citizens and none of the proprietors have faced justice. When late Pio Gama Pinto, TJ Mboya and JM Kariuoki were assassinated we had inquiries and tribunals which until now have not solved anything; the master -minders and killers are still free.
In 1969 the late Kenyatta ordered his security agents to massacre luos from Kisumu to Awasi border of Rift Valley when they threw stones at his motorcade, no justice until now. Former president Moi's 23 year regime in which thousands Kenyans disappeared, tortured, maimed and killed in land clashes is no different. The master- minders and financers are still in government, no justice for ordinary Kenyans.

It is unfortunate for Kenyans to assume that the Local Tribunal will by any means provide justice in an environment of intimidation and political correctness. In the wake of crisis, the Kenyan government has involved itself in public relations propaganda for instance, forming tribunals, inviting foreign investigative agencies, in a bid to save their face but with no real intention of exposing the guilty. Scotland Yard was invited to investigate Dr. Robert Ouko's murder but even then allowed very little resources room to conduct a thorough and fair investigation. In addition, various reports have pointed a finger at the government as being involved in blantant inteference including eliminating potential witnesses in the case (or was it just a coincidence that all potential witnesses died of 'short ilnesses'). Is this a government that should be trusted with it's own tribunal?

The elites and the financers of the post election violence in Kenya are immune to criminal inquiries and therefore any locally established tribunal court in Kenya will be obviously manipulated by these corrupt, wealthy politicians.

Hundreds or perhaps thousands of young Kalenjins, Luhyas and Luo ODM protesters who had no role in organizing the violence are still being held  in Kenyan prisons in connection with said post election violence, while supporters of Kibaki-PNU and the Kenya Police who triggered and committed crimes against the innocent are receiving less attention from foreign envoys and the Kenyan Government. The 'crackdown' on mungiki has been a shallow PR tactic by the government, to be seen as doing something about the banned violent sect, yet reports have implicated senior government officials being involved and financing mungiki during the post-election violence and for political assasination.
Indeed this is a blind justice, the manner in which disproportional arrest have been done clearly indicates that by no means determination of innocence or guilt will be made without bias or prejudice in Kenya.

Generally the Kenya n Justice fishnet is only capable of catching small innocent fish but incapable to catch the Nile Perch, and thus the Hague is the best option, even if it will take a while but there would be hope that the process of justice will be allowed to prevail and that the financers of the post election violence, no matter who they are, will face justice.

CDM-K has filed various complaints at The Hague regarding the abuse of human rights, unsolved murders and economic crimes in Kenya and we are optimistic that our complaints will be looked at in light of the post-election violence.

CDM-K still maintains that The Hague must act swiftly and act upon the several complains that we had filed, in addition to several from ODM and many other human rights organizations to prosecute the proprietors of the violence which left thousands maimed, killed and many still living as refugees.