Kenya May Turn to ICC in Addressing Domestic Violence

On Thursday, July 30, Kenyan cabinet members decided to keep all options open after discussing whether to form a local tribunal or to allow an international trial for those behind last year's post-election violence.

After incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in December 2007, supporters of his opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, erupted in violence over the allegedly rigged election. Riots, mass looting, protests, and ethnic violence continued for months, with an estimated 1,500 people killed and more than 300,000 displaced.

The divided Kenyan cabinet discussed five options during the day-long session, which was the third meeting held on this issue. While the first two meetings failed to produce an agreement, with many concerned about whether President Mwai Kibaki should have immunity, the cabinet finally "reaffirmed its commitment to rule of law, and in particular its commitment to the International Criminal Court and will cooperate and fulfill its obligations to the Court under the Rome Statute." Although they promised local judicial reform, the International Criminal Court, which has received a list of ten top suspects by crisis mediator and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, is ready to step in to try the perpetrators if Kenya's coalition government does not create its own court.

While both Kibaki and Odinga support a local court, the majority of Kenyans would prefer the ICC take the case, believing that a domestic tribunal would simply absolve the wrongdoers of blame.

Another Kenya article from 07/31/2009