ICC charges ex-Kenyan ministers
Apr 07, 2011
TWO frmer Kenyan ministers appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague yesterday on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the country’s post-election violence in 2007-08.
By AGENCIES
TWO frmer Kenyan ministers appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague yesterday on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the country’s post-election violence in 2007-08.
Former higher education minister William Ruto, former industry minister Henry Kosgey and another co-accused, radio presenter Joshua arap Sang, went before a pre-trial chamber to be informed of the charges levelled against them.
“The allegations that have been made here, it sounds they are only possible in a movie,†Ruto told the court, dismissing the charges as “stories from the prosecutor and his teamâ€.
The three, all close associates of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, were the first of six Kenyan political leaders who were charged in connection with the 2007-2008 post-election violence that left about 1,200 people died.
Also, to appear before the court today are deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura, president Mwai Kibaki’s right-hand man, and Mohammed Hussein Ali, who was the police chief during the violence.
Charges against the six include murder, deportation, rape, inhumane acts, persecution and torture in the months following Kibaki’s contested re-election in December 2007.
“An innocent person like me, to be dragged all the way here, is a matter that puzzles me,†Ruto, a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, told the court.
“There is no reason for us to be here. We are innocent people.
There is no court that tries innocent people,†he told reporters after the hearing, before belting out his country’s national anthem along with some 30 Kenyan lawmakers who were there to back him.
A procedural hearing, which the accused are not required to attend, was set for April 18, while another, to confirm the charges, was set for September 1.
Before any trial can take place, the ICC judges must confirm charges against the six men, a process that may take several months. The ICC has divided the six accused into two groups according to their political allegiances.
Issuing summons for the men in March, the ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that the Kenyatta group was responsible for attacks against supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (OMD) with a view to keeping Kibaki’s Party for National Unity (PNU) in power.
Ruto, Kosgey and Sang, on the other hand, were believed to have been part of a plan “targeting members of the civilian population supporting the PNU in order to punish them and evict them from the Rift Valley with the ultimate goal of gaining power and creating a uniform ODM voting block.â€
Kenya plunged into violence after the December 27, 2007 general elections in which then opposition chief Odinga accused Kibaki of having rigged his re-election.
What began as political riots soon turned into ethnic killings targeting members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe.
Kenya has filed an application for the court to declare the two cases inadmissible, saying the country was competent to handle the prosecution itself.
The ICC, the world’s only independent, permanent tribunal for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, can only prosecute if a state is unwilling or unable to do so.
The court took charge of the case after Nairobi failed to set up a tribunal of its own in line with agreements brokered by former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan to end the post-vote chaos.
TWO frmer Kenyan ministers appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague yesterday on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the country’s post-election violence in 2007-08.
Former higher education minister William Ruto, former industry minister Henry Kosgey and another co-accused, radio presenter Joshua arap Sang, went before a pre-trial chamber to be informed of the charges levelled against them.
“The allegations that have been made here, it sounds they are only possible in a movie,†Ruto told the court, dismissing the charges as “stories from the prosecutor and his teamâ€.
The three, all close associates of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, were the first of six Kenyan political leaders who were charged in connection with the 2007-2008 post-election violence that left about 1,200 people died.
Also, to appear before the court today are deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura, president Mwai Kibaki’s right-hand man, and Mohammed Hussein Ali, who was the police chief during the violence.
Charges against the six include murder, deportation, rape, inhumane acts, persecution and torture in the months following Kibaki’s contested re-election in December 2007.
“An innocent person like me, to be dragged all the way here, is a matter that puzzles me,†Ruto, a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, told the court.
“There is no reason for us to be here. We are innocent people.
There is no court that tries innocent people,†he told reporters after the hearing, before belting out his country’s national anthem along with some 30 Kenyan lawmakers who were there to back him.
A procedural hearing, which the accused are not required to attend, was set for April 18, while another, to confirm the charges, was set for September 1.
Before any trial can take place, the ICC judges must confirm charges against the six men, a process that may take several months. The ICC has divided the six accused into two groups according to their political allegiances.
Issuing summons for the men in March, the ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that the Kenyatta group was responsible for attacks against supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (OMD) with a view to keeping Kibaki’s Party for National Unity (PNU) in power.
Ruto, Kosgey and Sang, on the other hand, were believed to have been part of a plan “targeting members of the civilian population supporting the PNU in order to punish them and evict them from the Rift Valley with the ultimate goal of gaining power and creating a uniform ODM voting block.â€
Kenya plunged into violence after the December 27, 2007 general elections in which then opposition chief Odinga accused Kibaki of having rigged his re-election.
What began as political riots soon turned into ethnic killings targeting members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe.
Kenya has filed an application for the court to declare the two cases inadmissible, saying the country was competent to handle the prosecution itself.
The ICC, the world’s only independent, permanent tribunal for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, can only prosecute if a state is unwilling or unable to do so.
The court took charge of the case after Nairobi failed to set up a tribunal of its own in line with agreements brokered by former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan to end the post-vote chaos.