Seven Questions for His Feared Moreno-Ocampo

After the International Criminal Court prosecutor released the names of Kenyans suspected to have played a part in the dreadful 2007/08 post election violence, the country receded to a terrifying silence characterised by low toned talks and euphoric media.

Amidst the unusual atmosphere, these questions made an abrupt stopover:

ü  1.When someone wakes up one day and brand another most responsible for what happened yesterday, then such questions as these arise: Most responsible according to who? And why should they be categorised as such? You know, Responsibility is ever relative. Therefore, The Hague Six, who have already been tagged key suspects, invite such doubts as who labelled them as such-an angel from Heaven? Or another man immersed in inadequacies and with natural prejudices? Emblazoning the individuals as ‘most’, ‘key’, ‘principal’ is prejudicial and would do much to incriminate the suspects before a ‘fair’ process takes its course.

ü  2. Six individuals telling Kenyans to fight? Give us a break, please. We are over 38 million, the last time I checked. So how can a mere six incite Kenyans, who are, mark you, very intelligent- talk of brilliant inventor Evans Wadongo, one of the ten heroes identified by CNN, late Barrack Obama Senior who bore President Obama, top model Ajuma, lightning runners- these are uncountable- Rudisha, Jelimo, Wanjiru and others, prolific billionaire bankers as Equity's James Mwangi, top writers in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, superb lawyers in DPP’s Keriako Tobiko, among million bright Kenyans. So the named six warped the minds of all these well-educated people to fight or condone fighting?

ü  3.Moreno-Ocampo’s listed demands for suspects makes one wonder why such people are being treated like animals which don’t deserve any rights. I’ll just mention two which I strongly belief are draconian and go against the beliefs entrenched in the code of natural justice. One is this -Updating the ICC on their latest personal contacts and whereabouts and second is -restrictions not to make contact with other suspects in preparation of their defences. Tell me if these orders don’t belong to the Stone Age. What happened to the freedom of association and movement to the extent that some individuals tell others to tell them where they go every day? So if Brigadier Ali visits his grandmother for a cup of mursik, should he tell some prosecutor in The Hague? What of the right to privacy? Should they not be allowed the tiniest part of their privacy?

ü  4.By picking out few individuals to face the wrath on behalf of an evidential shambolic electoral system, the prosecutor offers a blind eye on the root cause of what really happened. The general feeling is that were it not for an adulterated election body Kenyans would not have faced any violence. Why has Moreno-Ocampo chosen to ignore this fact? Doing this not only negate efficiency of the ICC in solving the root-causes of global strife but also beef beliefs of hidden agenda behind his indictments.

ü  5.There’s a lot of ambiguity in Moreno-Ocampo’s charges. First he says he’s not after a group or mass of people but individuals. Right and that’s how criminal, and indeed all cases, are dealt with but why then charge someone of a case he has not, at least, directly  committed. For instance, the named Six will face “charges of murder, rape, deportation and others” which were certainly committed by others. Or will you want to say the Six were all over Kenya wielding their machetes and using them to taste the oesophagus of the recorded 1,300? And will you still say they ripped off the clothes of all the raped women. Surely, other people did this and someone else is facing the law on behalf of them. Why? And yet he had promised not to generalise his accusations.

ü  6..And the ever unresolved concern that the ICC is only interested in third world countries, especially in Africa. Who will ever settle these doubts? And why has Moreno-Ocampo not shown any interest in putting to rest these reservations by indicting someone from the G8 or better still G20?

ü  7.Who will be responsible if in any case violence erupts as a result of the naming of the suspects? Moreno-Ocampo, Philip Waki, or Koffi Annan?

 When these questions and many others get satisfactory responses then I would let my doubts aside, otherwise they will remain etched in my doubts gallery.

Just by the way...

I have no problem with criminals facing the full force of the law. But have a problem when such alleged criminals are inhumanely treated even before they are found guilty, or put through a process which has acted unfairly in the past.