Originally published on the CGS blog on March 3, 2010.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo today named 20 people that he alleges are most responsible for the deadly post-election violence which swept Kenya in December 2007 and January 2008.
Following a request for additional information from the ICC judges last month, the Prosecutor, in a confidential list, identified senior political and business leaders who allegedly organized, enticed and/or financed attacks against the civilian population on account of their perceived ethnic and/or political affiliation pursuant to or on furtherance of a State and/or organizational policy.
At the time of the violence the PNU was in the government and the ODM was the main opposition party. The Prosecutor stated: “These senior leaders from both PNU and ODM parties were guided by political objectives to retain or gain power.” The names were identified after several inquiries were conducted. Among the evidence examined by Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo was sealed materials submitted former Secretary-General Kofi Annan in early 2009. Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo told the pre-trial chamber today that, in line with the ICC’s complementarity principle, none of the 20 people he named have faced justice in Kenya for the crimes.
The Prosecutor added that: “At this stage, the names are indicative only” said the Prosecutor. “The allegations concerning the named individuals will have to be measured against the evidence gathered independently by my office. If the Judges authorize the investigation, I will engage those who wish to clarify their role or provide further information.”
Kenya signed the ICC’s Rome Statute in 2005 and many people in Kenya support ICC intervention as a way to prevent violence during the next election and break years of political impunity in the country.
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