By Kofi Annan: One concrete outcome was the Waki commission, a national inquiry into the postelection violence. It concluded that the violence was not just spontaneous, but, in at least some areas, a result of planning and organization, often with the involvement of politicians and businessmen. This was not surprising — politicians hungry for power have long exploited Kenya’s ethnic divisions with impunity. To break this cycle, the commission recommended that Kenya form a special tribunal to bring to account those most responsible. But the commission also foresaw that Kenya’s entrenched political interests might undermine justice, so in the event of inaction, the matter was to be turned over to the International Criminal Court. Kenya’s president, prime minister and parliament agreed to these terms. The commission also gave me a sealed envelope with the names of high-level people allegedly responsible for the violence. Sadly, the commission proved prescient. Kenya’s leaders initially agreed to establish a special tribunal, but proposals for a court were defeated twice by Parliament. It was on the back of these broken promises for justice that, in July 2009, I complied with the commission’s recommendations and handed over the sealed envelope to the I.C.C. prosecutor. In the absence of national steps toward accountability, the prosecutor decided, with the approval of the judges of the court, to open investigations.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 07:38:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015