3 September 2010

Nairobi — Kenya acquitted itself well yesterday when it signed an agreement to permit the International Criminal Court to set up base in the country to pursue the suspects of the chaos that followed the 2007 flawed elections.

Only last week, Kenya waded into a storm when it hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at the grand ceremony to usher in the new Constitution. Having been indicted by the ICC over human rights abuses in Darfur, President al-Bashir is an outlaw in any country that is a signatory to the Rome Statutes that established the court.

Critics were therefore quick to read mischief when Kenya hosted a wanted character. It was seen as a subtle but pointed message that Kenya was spiteful of the Rome Statutes and in particular, was sending a signal that it may not cooperate with the court in tracking down the violence suspects.

With the new development, it is now clear that the country is ready to cooperate and support the court to perform its task. And the urgency of the matter becomes clear when it emerges that the court has received 400 potential witnesses.

Nevertheless, the challenge to try all the suspects remains. ICC's Luis Moreno-Ocampo has made it abundantly clear that the international court can only try up to six suspects, mainly those who bear the greatest responsibility for the violence in which 1,133 were killed and 650,000 rendered homeless.

It follows, therefore, that the vast majority of those who planned, financed or otherwise participated in the murderous mayhem will remain untouched. This is why we revive the debate about a local tribunal to try all the suspects.

All agree that the culture of impunity must end. But that is not possible if the bulk of those who commit atrocities get away with their nefarious acts because of inability to charge them. Let ICC do its work, but a local outfit must also be established to try the other suspects.