Waki-ing up to Reality

Surprise, surprise! It now emerges that the change of mind by principals in ODM and PNU regarding the implementation of the Waki report had nothing to do with the interests of Kenyans at large. It is instead a cynical attempt to keep instigators and  perpetrators of the post-election mayhem away from the hands of prosecutors at the International Criminal Court. 

[T]he Nation learnt that the fear that post-election violence suspects could be taken to the ICC at The Hague, The Netherlands, is behind the change of mind by some MPs within PNU and ODM.

Sources said PNU leaders were taken through the Waki report and its implications if a local tribunal was not formed by lawyers Mutula Kilonzo who is also Metropolitan minister and former Kanu chief whip Justin Muturi.

Mr Kilonzo managed to convince 10 Cabinet ministers allied to PNU not to dismiss the report as this would land the suspects in the ICC....

Mr Kilonzo, Mr Sirma, MPs Bonny Khalwale and Cyrus Jirongo said MPs had read and understood that it was futile to dismiss the Waki report when it had a self-implementing mechanism.

Yesterday's 9pm TV news reports showed Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi recommending adoption of the report on the basis that it would be easier to manipulate a local tribunal than to deal with the ICC. In fact, the Daily Nation further reports that there are already moves to "propose amendments to the Waki recommendations to ensure that instead of having two foreign judges and one local in both tribunal courts, two judges should come from Kenya" once the report is tabled in Parliament. (Since this was not a Parliamentary report, it is unclear on what authority the MPs would amend it.)  

It is thus clear that there never was any intention of ensuring that those responsible for the rape, murder and displacement of thousands faced justice. On that score alone, we should do away with the whole idea of a local tribunal. Since both parties were keen to report one another to the ICC in January, I think we should grant them their wish and let Luis Moreno-Ocampo have his way with them.

Fiat justitia, ruat coelum (Let justice be done, though the heavens fall)!