KENYA: Leaders receive inquiry report calling for an international tribunal to prosecute ringleaders of election violence that rocked the country following the disputed December 2007 poll

Record ID: 361011

  • Title: KENYA: Leaders receive inquiry report calling for an international tribunal to prosecute ringleaders of election violence that rocked the country following the disputed December 2007 poll
  • Date: 16th October 2008
  • Summary: (AD2) NAIROBI, KENYA (OCTOBER 15, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MINISTERS STANDING KENYA PRESIDENT, MWAI KIBAKI AND KENYA PRIME MINISTER, RAILA ODINGA AT PRESENTATION OF WAKI COMMISSION REPORT MEMBERS OF WAKI COMMISSION JUDGE PHILIP WAKI (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, JUDGE PHILIP WAKI, SAYING: "The report recommends the creation of a special tribunal
  • Embargoed: 31st October 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4TK90I042VDZ7VRCIOWTODEF9
  • Story Text: An official inquiry into Kenya's post-election violence called on Wednesday (October 15) for an international tribunal to prosecute the ringleaders, but did not disclose the names of the top suspects.
    The report called for a tribunal with non-Kenyans on the senior investigations and prosecutions staff.

    "The report recommends the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute crimes committed as a result of post-election violence. The tribunal will have international component," said Judge Philip Waki, who headed the inquiry.
    Waki presented the report to President Mwai Kibaki who was accompanied by Prime Minister, Raila Odinga and several cabinet ministers.
    Kibaki, said the report would help the country resolve the country's social and political problems that led to the violence.

    "I believe that this report provides us with an opportunity to learn from the past in order to avoid future pitfalls. Accordingly, it marks an important step forward in our efforts to resolve the social and political challenges that have faced our country," said Kibaki.
    Tribal and political clashes killed 1,300 people and displaced 300,000 more after a disputed December 27 presidential vote in east Africa's biggest economy. In some areas, the clashes were planned by political leaders and businessmen.
    But Waki disappointed many Kenyans by saying the commission's list of top suspects would be sealed and handed to former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan mediated talks that created a coalition government in April to end the crisis.

    "Well, as I said earlier, my commission has the names of powerful individuals in politics, in government, in business, in the police and elsewhere whose capacity for interference according to the evidence can neither be assumed nor dismissed," said Waki at a news conference held after the handover of the report to Kibaki.
    Waki's report also said the state security agencies had "failed institutionally to anticipate, prepare for, and contain the violence. Often individual members ... were also guilty of acts of violence and gross violations of human rights."
    In some areas, it said, the police were overwhelmed by the numbers of attackers and the coordination of the violence.
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