afrol News, 9 July - The Former UN Chief, Kofi Annan has submitted the list of suspected perpetrators of the 2007 post election violence in Kenya to the International Criminal Court, reports have revealed. The violence killed close to 1, 500 and uprooted thousands.

According to the statement issued by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, to Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the sealed envelope has been handed over to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo following his meetings with Kenyan officials in Geneva recently.

A week ago Kenyan ministers promised to establish the tribunal by July 2010 and in the meantime provide the ICC with the details of their investigations.

The submission came a month after Mr Annan gave Kenya an August deadline to establish the special tribunal, warning that he would hand over the list to the ICC if the deadline was not met.

Mr Annan said he held a meeting with the Kenya Government delegation, where they discussed the status of the implementation of the National Accord and progress on reforms including modalities of the establishment of a Special Tribunal.

In February, the Kenyan legislators rejected the 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.

President 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 1,333 and displaced thousands.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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