The International Criminal Court will seek to begin investigations into the Kenya post election violence, its prosecutor said on Thursday.
Mr Moreno Ocampo told a news conference at the end of a closed door meeting at Harambee House, Nairobi with Kenya principals President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga that he had explained his mandate to the leaders and how he plans to execute it.
“I have informed them that the crimes committed in Kenya are crimes against humanity and the gravity is there, therefore I should proceed,” said the prosecutor.
He said that he will request the Hague to allow him open investigations into the chaos.
“So I informed them, in December I would request to the judges of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and that is the process established by the Rome Treaty,” he said.
Mr Ocampo added that he was “pleased to see the support of the Government of Kenya to solve the problem.”
In a joint statement with the PM, President Kibaki said the Kenya Government remains committed to cooperating with the International Criminal Court as it seeks justice for post election violence suspects.
“The government is fully committed to discharge its primary responsibility in accordance with the Rome Statue to establish a local judicial mechanism to deal with perpetrators of the post election violence,” said President Kibaki at a news conference after the meeting.
“We also remain committed to cooperate with the ICC within the framework of the Rome Statue and the International Crimes Act.”
The President described the talks with the ICC prosecutor as “frank and candid.”
Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that the government will work hard to introduce reforms to avoid a situation that will take the country back to a similar position as last year.
He said the government will cooperate with the court so that “those who bear responsibility for the post election violence are brought to justice.”
The Harambee House meeting between Mr Ocampo and the principals started shortly after 11 a.m and was attended by Attorney General Amos Wako, ministers Mutula Kilonzo (Justice), Prof George Saitoti (Internal Security), James Orengo (Lands) and Moses Wetangula (Foreign).
The post election violence that rocked the country was sparked by a disputed presidential election in 2007 that left at least 1,300 people dead and a further 650,000 uprooted from their homes. The latter were forced to live in camps, which the President ordered closed in September.
A peace deal negotiated by former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan saw Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga agree to share power under a coalition government.
Source: Daily Nation
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