Will a tribunal office in Kenya be safe?

Kenya’s history indicates that whenever pressures build up for change, for correction of certain mistakes or in a negative situation, there have always been instances of insecurity all over the nation. This insecurity has always been aimed at either diluting the pressures, diverting attention or both.

In 1991, a commission of inquiry into the mysterious death of the former minister for foreign affairs, Dr Robert John Ouko, was set up. In less than one year, the commission was disbanded without reason by the then president of Kenya Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. Before the commission was disbanded, the chairman of the commission, and current Kenyan Chief of Justice Evan Gicheru, complained of insecurity. He said he feared for his life. He also revealed that his phones were tapped and people were listening to all of his conversations. In a period of only one year after the commission was disbanded, 42 Kenyans died under mysterious circumstances. They included the international police officer who was attached to the commission and most of the former colleagues of the late minister.

A short while later, the superintendent of Scotland Yard, John Troon, and another officer were invited to Kenya by the government to help in the investigation of the mysterious murder of Dr John Robert Ouko. A few weeks latter, Mr Troon said that he was leaving for Britain to attend to his sick mother. As soon as he arrived in Britain, he released a statement saying that he would not return to Kenya for security reasons.

After the Waki Commission released its findings and recommendations, high-level security concerns emerged everywhere in Kenya. The insecurity slightly declined after the Kenyan members of parliament softened their rigid stand to oppose the formation of a tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of the post-election violence.

There will be unbearable insecurity once the tribunal starts its work in Kenya. The perpetrators of the post-election violence, most of whom may be senior Kenyan politicians, may politicise the proceedings of the tribunal. In order to disrupt the efficiency of the tribunal, the security of the judges and other officers will be undermined. The possibility that some of those officiating the tribunal may taste the worst scenario of insecurity and even death will not be ruled out. There will be no way the tribunal will successfully prosecute the perpetrators of the post-election violence while operating in Kenya.

The success of the Rwanda tribunal for the perpetrators of the genocide was partially attributable to the fact that its main offices were located in Tanzania. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the ideal place for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the post-election violence in Kenya. Nevertheless, the Kenyan parliament is on the verge of approving a tribunal. Owing to the security concerns of those who will be responsible for the running of the tribunal, I sincerely plead with the prosecutor of the ICC, the chairman of the African Union and the secretary general of the United Nations to recommend the relocation of the tribunal offices to another country once it is approved by the Kenyan parliament. By doing so, the tribunal judges and others working there will be assured of protection and security. Considering what happened in Somalia and Rwanda, if proper measures are not taken, Kenyans and the whole world will live to regret it.

Yours faithfully,

Isaac Newton Kinity

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* Isaac Newton Kinity is the former secretary general of the
Kenya Civil Servants Union, and the chairman of the Kikimo Foundation for Corruption and Poverty Eradication.
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