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11-17 March 2016

Media Monitoring Report for Kenya
Posted on March 18, 2016

Compiled by Pierre-Philippe Turnbull

1. Kenya  and the ICC – New Developments

1. Kenya and the ICC - New Developments
Privately Owned Media

Violence victims may never get justice, but ICC was not in vain (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, February 22 2016)

  • Recently, it was reported that Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang had inched closer to acquittal for crimes against humanity charges following
  • There is a belief, now, that victims of Post-Electoral violence are the big losers in this decision.
  • However, the ICC cases might not stop future electoral violence but will most likely change its nature and character.
  • Even if the cases was to fail, the parading of Kenya’s top political elite in a court of law has already sent a very unambiguous message – the the Court will act.

The Hague process, which once promised so much, will yield so little (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, February 21 2016)

  • The decision to overrule the use of Rule 68 in the ongoing trial against Ruto and Sang calls for a general review of the status of the Kenyan cases before the ICC.
  • As a whole, the ICC brought charges in two separate cases, the first against Ruto, Sang and former Orange Democratic Movement chair Henry Kosgey while the second case was against President Uhuru Kenyatta, former head of the Public Service Francis Muthaura and former Commissioner of Police Mohamed Ibrahim Ali.
  • The second category of crimes are those that have allegedly occurred in the period since the end of the PEV and which were committed as part of a process of defeating accountability for the first category of crimes. This category of crimes allegedly occurred both in relation to the Kenyatta and the Ruto case.Mr Ruto maintained that “truth is finally coming out” and asked Kenyans to keep praying for them.\There is a fear that the ICC, finally, will have done very little to restore justice in Kenya.

Hate speech could again trigger election violence in Kenya (The Hague Trial Kenya, March 1 2016)

  • In the period of investigations conducted after the violent outcome of the 2007 elections in Kenya, the Commission for Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence (CIPEV) identified incitement to violence and hate speech as one of the main triggers behind the widespread violence. The Independent Review Commission, better known as the Kriegler Commission, also noted this. In addition, it recommended that a framework of legislation be enacted to prohibit and prosecute hate speech. They identified specific triggers that could bring violence in the future: The Judiciary; The failure of the ICC to set convictions following the elections ; Lack of cohesion in the country
  • The government, however, also added over 1200 new police officers, in an effort to monitor hate speech.

Reliable witnesses are Bensouda's only hope (The Hague Trials Kenya, February 19 2015)

  • Now that the dust of some unusual celebrations over the dismissal of recanted evidence is settling, perhaps it is time to ask which important witnesses the ICC chief prosecutor still has in her corner, the cherished witnesses who might send Ruto and Sang to jail if only they manage to convince the judges that the two committed crimes against humanity.
  • This will be a tough task for Bensouda.
  • The 5 witnesses on which the Prosecutor was counting are now long gone. Her case is weakened.
  • ICC usurping the role of State Parties (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, March 13 2016)
  • The International Criminal Court has reached new depths of desperation in regard to cases emanating from the Kenyan situation.
  • It has unilaterally and unfairly changed the rules of engagement, further eroding its standing as a transparent and impartial justice tribunal.
  • It has become clear that judges of the court do not respect the role of State Parties in its consultative process. These judges will even overreach their own powers to achieve a particular outcome.
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