Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


ICC to Request Reduced Powers for Kenyan Suspect

   Michael Onyiego | Nairobi  March 15, 2011
   International  Criminal  Court  Prosecutor  Luis  Moreno-Ocampo  (File
   Photo)

Photo: AP

   International  Criminal  Court  Prosecutor  Luis  Moreno-Ocampo  (File
   Photo)

   As Kenya attempts to halt an International Criminal Court case against
   six  of  its nationals, the courtâs prosecutor is questioning the role
   that one of the suspects plays in the current government.

   Speaking  via  video  link  from  The Hague late Monday, International
   Criminal  Court  Prosecutor  Luis Moreno-Ocampo revealed the court was
   preparing  to  send  a letter advising the Kenyan government about the
   head of the civil service, Francis Muthaura.
   âWe  are  preparing  a  letter  to  the  Kenyan  government asking, in
   particular,  the  current  role  of  Mr.  Muthaura," he said. "Because
   Muthaura  has,  still,  authority  on the police. If he will remain in
   this position, something should be done to ensure that the police will
   not work for him or protect his interests.â
   The  prosecutor  said removing Muthauraâs authority over Kenyan police
   is necessary to prevent any testimony against the Kenyan official from
   reaching  his  office.  Moreno-Ocampo said such steps were critical to
   ensure the safety of ICC witnesses.

   With  investigations  ongoing,  Muthaura  and  five  other Kenyans are
   required to appear before the court for an initial hearing on April 7.

   On  March  9,  the  judges  at  The  Hague  issued summons for the six
   suspects  named  in the prosecutorâs inquiry into ethnic violence that
   followed Kenya's disputed presidential vote in December 2007.

   President  Mwai  Kibaki and his election rival, current Prime Minister
   Raila  Odinga,  accused  each  other  of  fraud,  sparking  nationwide
   protests  that  devolved  into  near civil war. Some 1,300 people were
   killed  and  more than 300,000 were displaced by the violence, many of
   whom remain without homes over three years later.

   Late  Monday,  Government  Spokesman  Alfred  Mutua issued a statement
   calling   the  prosecutorâs  statement  âstrange  and  un-procedural.â
   Mutuaâs  statement reaffirmed Kenya's commitment to the court but said
   the government would maintain the âstatus quoâ until the ICC letter is
   received.

   The  ICC  request regarding Muthaura comes as Kenya continues to lobby
   members  of  the United Nations Security Council in a bid to defer the
   trial.  The  Security Council has the power, under the ICC's governing
   statute,  to  suspend  a trial for one year if it is found to threaten
   international peace or security.

   The  Kenyan  government  is  asking  for an opportunity to try the six
   suspects   locally,   using  judicial  reforms  envisioned  under  the
   countryâs  new  constitution. But human rights groups both locally and
   internationally have argued that Kenyaâs case does not present grounds
   for deferral under the ICC's laws.

   Within  the  coalition government, rifts are developing which threaten
   to  undermine  the  deferral  campaign.  Kenyaâs Daily Nation reported
   Monday  that  Odingaâs Orange Democratic Movement has sent a letter to
   the  Security  Council,  asking  the  body  to  reject the request for
   deferral.  According  to  reports,  the  letter  claimed  the deferral
   efforts  had  been  organized  by  the  six  ICC suspects and held the
   request  as  evidence  of  President Kibakiâs inability to address the
   post-election violence.

.