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Kenyan government challenges jurisdiction of international criminal court and says accused should face domestic trial
Even before the trial of the prominent Kenyans accused of inciting post-election violence opens in The Hague today, the jurisdiction of the international criminal court (ICC)has been challenged by the government in Nairobi.
A submission drawn up by British lawyers acting for the Kenyan authorities argues that the men should face justice in the domestic courts.
The three judges – a Bulgarian, a German and an Italian – decided, however, that the application would not delay the start of the hearing, which is expected to take a year or more.
Three of the defendants – William Ruto, a former Kenyan education minister, Henry Kosgey, a minister and chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement, and Joshua Sang, the head of a radio station – will appear in a "pre-trial chamber" at 9.30am (local time) in The Hague. They are accused of being "co-perpetrators" in the murder, deportation and persecution of supporters of Kenya's Party of National Unity.
On Friday, Francis Muthaura, secretary to Kenya's cabinet, Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy prime minister, and Mohammed Ali, chief executive of Kenya's postal corporation, will appear in the same courtroom at 2.30pm. They are accused also of being "co-perpetrators" in the murder, rape and "forcible transfer" of supporters of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement.
This week they will be informed of the charges against them and told their rights. A formal confirmation of charges is expected in the coming weeks. All the defendants are appearing on a voluntary basis and will be free to return to Kenya between hearings.
The two groups of suspects represent the opposing political factions from the disputed 2007 election. The proceedings will be broadcast live in English and French (available at http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx). The court's senior prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, named the six as suspects in December 2010, alleging that they organised violence that left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Kenya's application for the trial to be held in Nairobi was drawn up by two British barristers, Sir Geoffrey Nice and Rodney Dixon, who are specialists in international law.
The ICC judges have requested that the prosecutor, defendants and victims make written submissions on the Kenyan government application before 28 April at 4pm.
The Kenyan government claims that it will investigate and prosecute those responsible for the post-election violence that erupted across the country. Its application says that by September the necessary judicial reforms will have been implemented for the investigations to take their course in prosecutions before the Kenyan courts.
