- The International Criminal Court has warned the Kenyan government that it would intervene and take action against the perpetrators of the 2007 post election violence if government does not push for the enactment of a special tribunal law.
The ICC spokesperson, Beatrice Le Fraper Du Hellen, said the court has an international mandate to investigate massive crimes and take action in cases where national judicial mechanisms have proven to be ineffective.
Ms Du Hellen said The Hague started collecting information on the crimes against humanity after the 2007 elections in December and will not take long to issue warrants of arrest to suspected architects of the violence once it takes up the case.
The Justice Philip Waki Commission, which led investigations into the 2007 post elections violence had recommended that key architects of the killings should either be tried before a special tribunal or be handed over to The Hague.
“Once the International Criminal Court announces it has stepped in, there is no going back. We will act relentlessly and immediately,” she warned.
In February, the Kenyan legislators rejected a bill seeking to establish a local tribunal with MPs arguing that the post election violence suspects should rather be taken to the Hague. The MPs said a local judicial process would be vulnerable to political manipulation and that there would be no protection for witnesses.
The government failed to garner the two thirds majority required in a 'yes vote' for the amendment to succeed, raising concerns that an intercontinental process will have those on a secret list of suspects tried at The Hague.
On Monday, the former UN Chief, Kofi Annan urged Kenya to implement reforms as agreed by the leadership in February, saying failure would derail the achievements gained after the 2007 post election violence.
Mr Annan who addressed delegates in Geneva meeting on the Opening Plenary of 'The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation - One Year Later' said slow pace of the implementation of reforms had caused disillusionment among ordinary Kenyans.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga formed unity government in February last year after Mr Odinga accused President Kibaki of rigging the December 2007 elections. The violence that followed killed more than 1,333and displaced thousands.
Last month, the former UN chief, Kofi Annan, who is also chairman of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities and the broker of the original agreement that ended the violence, granted the government more time to reintroduce the measures that will see the setting up of the Tribunal.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga who fought for the bill in parliament including intensive lobbying, are still pushing for the tribunal as both local and international pressure intensifies.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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