ICC PROCESS TO STUMP OUT IMPUNITY, NOT INDIVIDUAL BATTLES

ICC PROCESS TO STUMP OUT IMPUNITY, NOT INDIVIDUAL BATTLES

The political temperatures are quickly rising in the political arena regarding the mentioning of The Hague 6 cases. As the events continue to unfold, William Ruto, Uhuru Kenyatta and Joshua Arap Sang have been traversing the country conducting prayer intercessions cum political rallies.  It is absurd that even after being prayed for and asked to forgive those who might have ‘set’ them up, they still sound bitter and seem contemptuous behind the microphones.

Ruto and Uhuru are taking the ICC process personally and it should be understood that Impunity in Kenya has been an impediment to our great country, Kenya. Some of the current crop of politicians have been in active politics for the longest time, and yet there have been violence sequentially in 1992, 1997, 2002 and the climax was witnessed in 2007 where close to 1000 Kenyans lost their lives.

Nothing was ever done to render justice to the victims of the sequential violence. The Kenyan case was taken to The Hague by our very own leaders when they defied requests to set up a local tribunal. Some of the mentioned suspects are on record rooting for an international independent body to try the suspects.

But what is coming out strongly is that the issue on ICC is being personalized and politicized with the intention to woo and hood wink Kenyans to join a particular band wagon in the expense of fighting Impunity. Analysts view this move as a desperate effort to save one of the suspects since he is a possible heir to President Kibaki.

The truth of the matter is that setting up a local mechanism is possible whilst the deferral of the case at the Hague is unstoppable, but on the other hand setting up the local mechanism will take time let alone the possibilities of manipulation of the process to save particular individuals, it is high time that Kenyans be given justice, for justice delayed is justice denied thus the shattered diplomacy efforts, since the world has come of age to believe in human rights.

Therefore I would like to ask our leaders to stop turning this issue into an ethnic affair for it is bound to create ethnic fault lines among Kenyan communities. The mentioned six in connection with the post election violence should proceed to The Hague and prove their innocence instead of seeking mercy from Kenyans. It also does not make sense, that some of the  mentioned leaders are accusing the PM of being behind their being taken to the Hague, and yet am aware that the KNHCR had carried its own investigations and two of the mentioned six had moved to court to have their names expunched from the KNHCR report on the violence. Am also aware that the ICC lead investigators were in the country to collect evidence hence it baffles me why the PM is on the receiving end.

Impunity in Kenya is cancerous and its time that we Kenyans know when we are being duped to support leaders who when planning ‘important’ issues ‘do it behind closed doors but when it blows up and become scandals we are turned upon that our community is being targeted or it is a ploy to lock certain  candidates out of 2012.

 Fighting impunity starts with you.

Shadrack Mbaka,

Nairobi