Kenya - post-election violence

Cabinet fails to decide on legal process

Article published on the 2009-07-31 Latest update 2009-08-03 16:05 TU

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki
(Photo: Reuters)

No decision was made at a meeting of Kenya's cabinet on Thursday as to the judicial means to be used to try those accused of election violence last year. The choice is essentially between local tribunals or an ICC trial in the Hague.

The country's National Council of Churches called on both President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga to resign.

"The cabinet is not listening to the feelings of the people who elected them," said Edward Karanja Kariuki of the National Council of Churches, after the government failed to reach a decision as to how to try those accuse of involvement in the violence.

He said people were "losing confidence with the parliament, losing confidence with the leadership of the country" and described the lack of decision after Thursday's meeting as "rather disappointing".

Kariuki described the cabinet as "highly polarised" and said this was the reason for the deadlock.

"The majority of them think they are culprits because they know the roles they played in the post-election violence. And so it is rather difficult for the cabinet to come up with a rational position," Kariuki said.

 

Following the meeting Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki renewed the cabinet's committment to the rule of law, and said it resolved to "undertake accelerated and far-reaching reforms in the judiciary, police and investigative arms of government to enable them investigate, prosecute and try perpetrators of post-election violence locally"

But the National Council of Churches re-directed this statement at Kibaki and Odinga, saying "your admission that the judiciary, police and investigative arms of government are incompetent is the final confirmation that Kenya is a failed state".

On Friday the group Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to threaten Kenya's government with sanctions if no action is taken.

Clinton begins a seven-country tour of Africa next week.