14 thoughts on “Ocampo Six Are “High Risk Personalities” Says Dutch Government”
Kenyans should know that they are dealing with International laws not the one they used to have their casins in the courts here to be bribed to steal court files.
This should not be a surprise to Kenyans because Kenya Government signed in Rome Statute laws to be equal to the International Standard level, so that is what International body performs, no file missing from court room or bribe and corruption to be released, all that is nowhere only to say the truth.
The Six named by Ocampo will not be comming to Netherland to Visit as tourists or as govt of Kenya comming to Nertherland for govt meetings>No no !The Six named by Ocampo will be comming to the Hague to show any reason why they should not be locked in hence their charges are some of the most heinous crime to be commited by any human being>that is (THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!)
The Six Masteminds of PEV will not be issued with Normal Visa,but they will be issued with Visas that allows them to Only Visit (Report) to ICC in Hague to answer their charges!And these six will be the Guests of Hague which of course the courts do not have their Own Hotels to accommodate their clients instead they have Cells!(Does Kenya Courts have Hotels to accommodatetheir clients?) Kamiti Prison is their place.
But in Hague these guys will be taken care of by (Hague Maria) these Special trucks) that delivers Prisoners to the Court.
The Visas Issued to the Six Ocampo Suspects allows them only to Visit the ICC in Hague but not to loitering around cities for shopping spree!
One their Flight lands in Netherland they will be whisked away direct to ICC Cells waiting their Turn to be called One by one to answer each charge; In hague UHURU and Coy will not be treated with kid-gloves but will be treated in the same way as The Hague is treating former Liberian President etc or any other Hague ICC client!
It is likely these Pev suspects may not go free-willingly to Hague but the Hague Courts will issue arrest warrants Haraka sana!
And the Six will just find wings and fly but Where!Kenyan People will be very cooperative into arresting them no matter what! Their lives will turn into Fugitives like Felix Kabuga another wanted Fugitive for commiting mass murder in Rwanda!
The Netherlands govt is not taking any risks with the O-6 due to various reasons. one is that they can vanish into thin air in one of the 18 EU countries and go underground, or choose to arrange a clandestine entry into Kenya and remain blow surface. See Kabuga is reportedly in Kenya and moving about incognito, presumably with assistance from his powerful connections. In the above situation, the onus to produce them will fall on the Netherlands govt. Another reason can be one or more in the group may be targeted for ‘elimination’ so that he/they may not turn too cooperative (the equivalent of state witness) with the ICC. After all, the gentlemen are not on a shopping spree. Their destination and purpose of travel and itinerary are well known. The contention that the Six are to be official guests of the Kenyan Ambassador is frivolous. Kibaki should now not dilly-dally on the necessary action: require Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali to step aside as their continued stay in their perches is casting doubts on his commitment to the rule of law.
The Dutch embassy in Nairobi says it has not received any visa applications from members of parliament seeking to accompany the Ocampo six suspects to The Hague next week. This is despite public pronouncements by some of the legislators that up to 40 MPs could accompany the six to The Hague.
Is vice president Kalonzo Musyoka being gradually isolated in the nascent political alliance being formed by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret north mp William Ruto? Musyoka has been conspicuously missing during high profile political rallies convened and attended by Ruto, Kenyatta and their allies, triggering a series of questions on his stake in the alliance ahead of next year’s race to state house. Is he the missing k in the political team that was controversially dubbed the triple K alliance.
Ruto’s interview b4 going to The Hague. Useless sympathy seeking.
Sunday Live host Julie Gichuru interviews North Mp William Ruto on his preparations of heading to the Hague in April over claims of bearing the most responsibility for the post election violence.
Now Ruto Imagine Raila who was locked in for 9 years !!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FAMILY?? afadhali wewe unaenda hague….Raila was at shimo la tewa..dirty hot, ugali na cabbage malaria, debe for choo….6 GOOD YEARS….WHEN MOI WAS RESISTING DEMOCRACY….AND MOI WHO ENDED UP SELLING KALENJIN LAND…..
If u are innocent…so be it…go thru the process and come back home with no bitterness …do not create more rifts and mortgage Kalenjins!!!!
Kenya situation: Practical information on the 7 April 2011 initial appearance of William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang
ICC‐CPI‐20110331‐MA91
Situation: Republic of Kenya
Case: The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang
On Thursday, 7 April 2011, at 09:30 (The Hague local time), the initial appearance hearing of William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang is scheduled to take place before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Courtroom I. The hearing is being held in order to verify the identity of the suspects and to ensure that they have been informed of the crimes which they are alleged to have committed as well as of their rights under the Rome Statute, founding treaty of the ICC.
The hearing will be held in open session unless ordered otherwise.
Please note that the practical information regarding the separate initial appearance hearing in the case against Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali, scheduled on 8 April, 2011, will be announced separatelyI. To view the hearing from outside of the Court.
I. To view the hearing from outside of the Court
Live web streaming of the hearing will be available, with no delay, on the ICC website, through the following links:
Hearing summaries: An audio (floor channel only) and video summary of the hearing will be available the same day.
AV programmes: The radio and television programme “In the Courtroom” (in English) for downloading and on the ICC YouTube channel will be available the following day.
II. To attend the hearing at the Court
All visitors and media representatives planning to attend the hearing are kindly asked to:
•Request a seat in the Public Gallery or confirm attendance in the Media Centre by sending an email to PublicAffairs.Unit@icc-cpi.int;
•Arrive no later than 09:15 (The Hague local time);
•Use the public entrance located at Regulusweg; and
•Present a valid identification card (press pass, for the media).
III. Practical information for the media
Please note:
•Filming, photography and recording will not be allowed inside the Court building. Any recordings of interviews must take place outside of the Court.
•The ICC will provide live feed to the Media Centre and SNG trucks. Courtroom photographs will be provided in a press release later in the day.
•There are no lunch facilities in the Court’s Public Gallery or Media Centre. Vending machines with light refreshments are available near the lockers in the Public Gallery.
Media Centre
For this hearing, the Court’s Media Centre will open at 08:00 and will close at 19:00.
The area can seat up to 64 people and includes plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi Internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with Internet access; and 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. For external calls, journalists are advised to use their mobiles or purchase 0800 pre-paid phone cards beforehand. Such cards are available at newsagents and train stations, but not at the ICC. Mobile phones cannot be used in the public gallery.
Satellite broadcast
Hearing will be broadcast live through Eurovision, free of rights and free of charge in Europe (W3A), Asia, North and South America and Africa (AB3 C band). Information on frequencies and updates will be available here next week.
Recording facilities
The Court will provide feed from Courtroom I to the hot-desk area of the Media Centre. The tables in the Media Centre contain plugs for the video and audio feed from the courtroom (4:3, PAL): BNC video output and XLR audio output (using 220 watt voltage and plugs standard for The Netherlands). You can record from three possible audio channels: 1 – floor, 2 – English and 3 – French. Each table contains an audio plug. If you need to record on two channels, please use another plug at another table for the second channel. The ICC does not have spare cables available for the crews.
Feed for the SNG trucks
SNG trucks can record the signal from Courtroom I from the distribution box placed in the media parking facilities. Please note that there is no power supply available at the car park and that it is therefore necessary to have a generator.
Parking facilities
Media representatives can use the parking facilities located at the intersection of Regulusweg and Wegastraat.
——————————————————————————–
For information related to audio-visual matters, please contact Violeta Willemsen-Curcic, AV Producer, at + 31 70 515 8422 or at violeta.willemsencurcic@icc-cpi.int
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Associate Legal Outreach Officer, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int.
You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter.
The ICC and Kenya
An arm-wrestle for justice
Mar 22nd 2011, 17:16 by J.L. | DAR ES SALAAM
FROM afar, the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Kenya might look minute and provincial. In the context of Libya and Egypt, who really has time to concern themselves with the fate of six senior Kenyans wanted in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity following the country’s disputed 2007 election? True, some 1,200 Kenyans died and 300,000 were displaced, but does that measure up against the slaughter in northern Uganda, in Darfur, in Congo?
It does. Baobab would argue that the future of humanitarian law and of the ICC as an effective supranational body depends on the Kenyan case. The ICC’s chief prosecutor, a flamboyant Argentine, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has staked the court’s credibility on getting Kenya to hand over the suspects by next month. In the meantime, he has requested that Kenya remove one of the suspects, Francis Muthaura, the head of the civil service, from chairing national security meetings. There is little chance of that while Mr Muthaura has the backing of President Mwai Kibaki. Outwardly, Mr Kibaki supports the ICC. “The government wishes to inform the world that we understand, appreciate and respect the Rome Statute, the rights enshrined by the United Nations and the ICC process,” says the president’s spokesperson, Alfred Mutua. But privately Mr Kibaki is strongly opposed to letting “his boys go”. Mr Kibaki speaks for one side of a coalition government. The other side, headed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is fully supportive of the ICC. So too are the country’s leading churchmen and human-rights activists.
Kenya faces arm-wrestling between a distant judiciary, that enjoys lukewarm diplomatic backing, and an unfaltering inner circle around Mr Muthaura, which includes intelligence officers, generals, civil servants and wealthy businessmen. As a result, the ICC risks embarrassment or even failure, regardless of popular support for its prosecutions. That would make it harder for the court to bring prosecutions elsewhere. And in Kenya there is a danger of more violence and instability in next year’s elections.
“It is clear that, Africans – most of whom are denied justice in their respective countries – are watching the ICC carefully. Sceptical or enthusiastic, resistant or converted to the cause of international justice, elite or masses, Africans are expecting the ICC to curb endemic manifestations of gross human rights violations. In the meantime, the configurations of the ICC mandate can set important international precedents in terms of fair and impartial trials, victims’ participation and compensation. Those standards are then expected to reverberate in domestic proceedings. The ICC also has an opportunity to set high standards in the collective memory of Africans. In the absence of national initiatives to establish the truth and bring perpetrators to account, the ICC is the only available option currently in existence for most victims. Whichever directions the ICC will take in Africa depend on its ability to rise from poor beginnings, inappropriate and often uninformed criticisms, balance expectations and reality, and to begin to play an important role in the prevention of mass atrocities.”
“Improvements and corrections on the approaches of the ICC going forward are the best avenue for our concerns. Outrage and political opposition only creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and capriciousness around international justice, democracy and stability in Africa. If we want to understand the real reason behind the vicious criticism and opposition towards the ICC is about, we first need to understand what it isn’t about. It certainly is not about reversing impunity and dictatorship. The ICC needs to be supported by Africans and it will survive the storm. The reasons are simple…”
PNU WANTS TO RAISE 500M FOR OCAMPO 3
Thursday, 31 March 2011 00:00 BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY
CENTRAL Kenya MPs are seeking to raise Sh500 million shillings to help offset some of the legal costs that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura are expected to incur at the Hague.
Seven legislators met at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi yesterday to make preparations for a major fund raising event whose date is yet to be announced. The money will be solicited from well wishers through various means including mini harambees to be held countrywide, individual donations and through SMS money transfers.
Briefing the press on behalf of the MPs, the PNU secretary-general and Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi said they estimated each suspect will require at least Sh150 million for their legal fees.
He said that, after a consultative meeting, the leaders had resolved to show solidarity by assisting the trio to raise the money.“We have also commenced consultations with a view to setting up an SMS line where their supporters will contribute their money,” Kiraitu announced. Conservative estimates have put the total cost of the six going through a full trial at not less than Sh4 billion.
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua had in February caused a public furore when he announced that taxpayers would fund the legal defence for the the public servants. He disputed the Sh4 billion estimate without explanation.
Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali are due to appear before the International Criminal Court next week after the court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accused them and ODM’s William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and radio presenter Joshua Sang, of bearing the greatest responsibility in the post election violence.
Sang has also been raising money from his supporters mainly in Rift Valley. He raised Sh1.6 million at a funds drive held in Eldoret on Tuesday night and more money was expected to be raised at yet another even scheduled to be held tonight at the Railway Club in Nairobi.
Ruto has previously said he will take care of his legal costs himself and does not need anyone to raise money for him. He also declined the offer of support from ODM.
The ODM is divided over whether or not to hire lawyers for its party chairman Kosgey and its deputy leader Ruto. While a section of the party lead by the deputy secretary-general Joseph Nkaissery and the party’s parliamentary secretary Ababu Namwamba have announced that the party will hire lawyers for Ruto, Sang and Kosgey, the party secretary general Anyang’ Nyong’o has insisted that the party has not taken such a decision.
Yesterday Kiraitu said that while PNU had initially planned to raise money for their own people, if the party decided to include the ODM suspects in their fund raising, their target would be revised from Sh500 million to Sh1 billion.
Some of the MPs who attended the meeting included Kiraitu Mathira’s Ephraim Maina, Ferdinand Waititu of Embakasi, Lewis Nguyai of Kikuyu, Mukurweini ‘s Kabando wa Kabando and Nakuru town’s Lee Kinjanjui .
Earlier Kiraitu and Maina had intimated that the harambee will be in aid of all the Ocampo Six but Kabando interjected to clarify that it will only cover the three PNU suspects.
The plan has raised concerns with questions being asked why the MPs are rushing to bail out the Ocampo Six and yet they had failed to come to the assistance of thousands of internally displaced people who are still stuck in makeshift camps as the government claims it is seeking funds to resettle them. Just last week, Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi announced that Sh2 billion was needed to resettle over 7,000 IDP still living in 23 camps scattered across the Rift Valley.
The motive for the fund raising was intimated when Kiraitu accused Ocampo of deliberately politicising the Kenya case and demanded that it be expedited.“Justice delayed is justice denied. We call upon ICC not to be party to influencing and rigging the outcomes of 2012 election. We therefore, condemn any process that will subject the alleged perpetrators to unduly prolonged trials, thus denying them their right and opportunity to be elected in Kenya’s democracy,” Kiraitu said.
In Parliament, Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua warned the government against using public funds to pay the legal bills for the Ocampo six.
Contributing to the debate on a motion moved by Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta seeking the approval of Parliament to spend Sh36 billion between now and June, Karua said the suspects should fund raise instead of using public funds.
She questioned the allocations in the supplementary budget which Uhuru said was for enhancing security.“What is the enhanced security? Is it public rallies in support for the Ocampo Six?,” said Karua.
The Gichugu MP also said that public funds should not be used in campaigning against the ICC as some politicians have been doing. “This is a big boy’s club, never mind the ages of the big boys,” she added.
She said it was ironical that those who were presently opposed to the ICC process had voted against the Special Tribunal Bill when she brought in in Parliament in February 2009 when she was Justice minister. She said some of those who now wanted a local process had mobilized their allies in Parliament to ensure the same Bill is defeated.“Where did you vote? I stood before this House saying a local tribunal is the best for the country, but you said let’s not be vague, let’s go to The Hague. Hague has come, take The Hague quietly,” Karua said.
Monday, 04 April 2011 00:02 BY FRANCIS MUREITHI AND PAUL ILADO
International Criminal Court agents have been tracing and profiling the assets owned by the Ocampo Six ahead of their appearance in court this week.
The agents have profiled investments valued at Sh20 billion reportedly owned by one of the suspects even as they draw up detailed lists and verify information provided by other suspects.
The assets probe, which started months ago, officially started on March 8 after the pre-trial chamber judges issued summons.“We have a deadline to trace these assets and investments both in Kenya and abroad. So far the bulk of the assets we have traced belong to one suspect and his family. All this information will be handed over to the relevant arm of the court so that if the court wants these assets and bank accounts frozen, then they know where they are,” said an agents who cannot be identified because he is not authorised to speak to reporters.
The ICC is believed to have hired different asset-tracing firms to keep track of the money that two of the six suspects have been moving around in their attempt to conceal the cash.
Families and relatives of some of the suspects are said to have become increasingly agitated as fears grow of the possibility of ICC ordering a freeze on their assets or accounts.
Wanted by ICC are deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and radio journalist Joshua Sang’.
One of the suspects has in the past few months transferred millions in cash and assets to his lawyer who is supposed to hold them in trust. An offshore firm registered in the Cayman Islands is also reported to have taken up his shares in a well known insurance business.
A second suspect has sold assets valued at Sh10 billion, including hundreds of hectares of land and a food processing business.“In one of the companies known to belong to the suspect’s family, the shareholding was transferred last week on Wednesday to one of the partners who is very close to the family,” the agent said. A number of top law firms in the city are reportedly involved in the transfers.
Under the Rome Statute, once a suspect has been summoned or a warrant of arrest issued, the ICC judges have powers to issue orders freezing the assets and accounts of any suspect at the request of the chief prosecutor.
Article 57 (e) provides that ICC seizure of a suspect’s assets or accounts is done as a “protective” measure in case a suspect is convicted and fined and if cash is needed to compensate victims.
Once the suspect is tried and convicted, the judges can issue an order for transfer of such assets into the Victims’ Trust Fund for disbursement to victims as reparations. But if the suspect is found innocent, the court must lift the freeze order.
Articles 57 (e) and 58 sets out how the court can issue a warrant while Article 93 compels the government to assist the court in “the identification, tracing and freezing or seizure of proceeds, property and assets and instrumentalities of crimes for the purpose of eventual forfeiture, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.
It is not immediately clear if the government has helped the ICC, but the Star established ICC representatives have met senior officers at the Attorney General’s office to discuss asset tracing.
In January, the ICC wrote to the Cabinet sub-committee on ICC chaired by Internal Security minister George Saitoti, requesting for support in tracing, freezing or seizure of property of the Ocampo Six when the Pre-Trial Chamber judges issue summons.
In the letter, the ICC stated the procedure of tracing and freezing or seizure of proceeds, property and assets for the purpose of eventual forfeiture and compensation to the victims of the violence.
Under the International Crimes Act (2008), the government is bound to cooperate with the ICC regarding tracing and seizure of assets owned by ICC suspects.
Article 106 (a) and (b) of the Act states that where the ICC requests assistance in identifying, tracing and freezing, or seizing, any property for the purpose of eventual forfeiture, the Attorney General shall only give authority for the request to proceed only if he is satisfied the request relates to an international crime and the property is or may be located in Kenya.
Article 130 (1) of the provides that “any money or property, including the proceeds of sale of property, recovered as a result of the enforcement under this Part of an order of the ICC shall be transferred to the ICC”.
MPs supported the passage of International Crimes Bill when it was brought to the House by Amos Wako at the end of 2008 with President Kibaki signing it into law immediately it was approved by MPs. By that time, majority of MPs were pushing for Hague trials as opposed to a local tribunal. It is this Act that effectively domesticated the Rome Statute.
ICC has already frozen the assets and accounts of Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba who is on trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The decision to freeze his assets was taken by the court three days after he was arrested in Brussels, Belgium, following issuance of a warrant of arrest. The former DRC vice-president was arrested on May 24, 2008 while his trial started in November last year after the court rejected his application that the trial be dropped.
After Bemba’s accounts were frozen, he complained he could not raise money for his defence and applied to the ICC to meet the cost. The application was rejected and the court re-opened one of Bemba’s account held in a bank in Portugal so he could pay his lawyers and support his family.
An estimated $6 million (Sh480 million) assets belonging to former Liberian President Charles Taylor held in ten countries in Europe were frozen after a United Nations-backed special war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone started prosecuting him for war crimes. The then Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Stephen Rapp announced that once there is proof that the money belongs to Taylor, the Special Court will bill him for his legal defence currently offered free. The UN Security Council is also pressurising the Liberian government to freeze Taylor’s assets in Liberia.
Kenyans should know that they are dealing with International laws not the one they used to have their casins in the courts here to be bribed to steal court files.
This should not be a surprise to Kenyans because Kenya Government signed in Rome Statute laws to be equal to the International Standard level, so that is what International body performs, no file missing from court room or bribe and corruption to be released, all that is nowhere only to say the truth.
The Six named by Ocampo will not be comming to Netherland to Visit as tourists or as govt of Kenya comming to Nertherland for govt meetings>No no !The Six named by Ocampo will be comming to the Hague to show any reason why they should not be locked in hence their charges are some of the most heinous crime to be commited by any human being>that is (THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!)
The Six Masteminds of PEV will not be issued with Normal Visa,but they will be issued with Visas that allows them to Only Visit (Report) to ICC in Hague to answer their charges!And these six will be the Guests of Hague which of course the courts do not have their Own Hotels to accommodate their clients instead they have Cells!(Does Kenya Courts have Hotels to accommodatetheir clients?) Kamiti Prison is their place.
But in Hague these guys will be taken care of by (Hague Maria) these Special trucks) that delivers Prisoners to the Court.
The Visas Issued to the Six Ocampo Suspects allows them only to Visit the ICC in Hague but not to loitering around cities for shopping spree!
One their Flight lands in Netherland they will be whisked away direct to ICC Cells waiting their Turn to be called One by one to answer each charge; In hague UHURU and Coy will not be treated with kid-gloves but will be treated in the same way as The Hague is treating former Liberian President etc or any other Hague ICC client!
It is likely these Pev suspects may not go free-willingly to Hague but the Hague Courts will issue arrest warrants Haraka sana!
And the Six will just find wings and fly but Where!Kenyan People will be very cooperative into arresting them no matter what! Their lives will turn into Fugitives like Felix Kabuga another wanted Fugitive for commiting mass murder in Rwanda!
The Netherlands govt is not taking any risks with the O-6 due to various reasons. one is that they can vanish into thin air in one of the 18 EU countries and go underground, or choose to arrange a clandestine entry into Kenya and remain blow surface. See Kabuga is reportedly in Kenya and moving about incognito, presumably with assistance from his powerful connections. In the above situation, the onus to produce them will fall on the Netherlands govt. Another reason can be one or more in the group may be targeted for ‘elimination’ so that he/they may not turn too cooperative (the equivalent of state witness) with the ICC. After all, the gentlemen are not on a shopping spree. Their destination and purpose of travel and itinerary are well known. The contention that the Six are to be official guests of the Kenyan Ambassador is frivolous. Kibaki should now not dilly-dally on the necessary action: require Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali to step aside as their continued stay in their perches is casting doubts on his commitment to the rule of law.
The Dutch embassy in Nairobi says it has not received any visa applications from members of parliament seeking to accompany the Ocampo six suspects to The Hague next week. This is despite public pronouncements by some of the legislators that up to 40 MPs could accompany the six to The Hague.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kenyacitizentv#p/u/45/f7sdGh1Fnoc
Is vice president Kalonzo Musyoka being gradually isolated in the nascent political alliance being formed by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret north mp William Ruto? Musyoka has been conspicuously missing during high profile political rallies convened and attended by Ruto, Kenyatta and their allies, triggering a series of questions on his stake in the alliance ahead of next year’s race to state house. Is he the missing k in the political team that was controversially dubbed the triple K alliance.
Ruto’s interview b4 going to The Hague. Useless sympathy seeking.
Sunday Live host Julie Gichuru interviews North Mp William Ruto on his preparations of heading to the Hague in April over claims of bearing the most responsibility for the post election violence.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kenyacitizentv#p/u/43/iexYu9n3W7o
Now Ruto Imagine Raila who was locked in for 9 years !!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FAMILY?? afadhali wewe unaenda hague….Raila was at shimo la tewa..dirty hot, ugali na cabbage malaria, debe for choo….6 GOOD YEARS….WHEN MOI WAS RESISTING DEMOCRACY….AND MOI WHO ENDED UP SELLING KALENJIN LAND…..
If u are innocent…so be it…go thru the process and come back home with no bitterness …do not create more rifts and mortgage Kalenjins!!!!
Kenya situation: Practical information on the 7 April 2011 initial appearance of William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang
ICC‐CPI‐20110331‐MA91
Situation: Republic of Kenya
Case: The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang
On Thursday, 7 April 2011, at 09:30 (The Hague local time), the initial appearance hearing of William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang is scheduled to take place before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Courtroom I. The hearing is being held in order to verify the identity of the suspects and to ensure that they have been informed of the crimes which they are alleged to have committed as well as of their rights under the Rome Statute, founding treaty of the ICC.
The hearing will be held in open session unless ordered otherwise.
Please note that the practical information regarding the separate initial appearance hearing in the case against Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali, scheduled on 8 April, 2011, will be announced separatelyI. To view the hearing from outside of the Court.
I. To view the hearing from outside of the Court
Live web streaming of the hearing will be available, with no delay, on the ICC website, through the following links:
Courtroom 1:
English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx
French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc2.asx
Hearing summaries: An audio (floor channel only) and video summary of the hearing will be available the same day.
AV programmes: The radio and television programme “In the Courtroom” (in English) for downloading and on the ICC YouTube channel will be available the following day.
II. To attend the hearing at the Court
All visitors and media representatives planning to attend the hearing are kindly asked to:
•Request a seat in the Public Gallery or confirm attendance in the Media Centre by sending an email to PublicAffairs.Unit@icc-cpi.int;
•Arrive no later than 09:15 (The Hague local time);
•Use the public entrance located at Regulusweg; and
•Present a valid identification card (press pass, for the media).
III. Practical information for the media
Please note:
•Filming, photography and recording will not be allowed inside the Court building. Any recordings of interviews must take place outside of the Court.
•The ICC will provide live feed to the Media Centre and SNG trucks. Courtroom photographs will be provided in a press release later in the day.
•There are no lunch facilities in the Court’s Public Gallery or Media Centre. Vending machines with light refreshments are available near the lockers in the Public Gallery.
Media Centre
For this hearing, the Court’s Media Centre will open at 08:00 and will close at 19:00.
The area can seat up to 64 people and includes plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi Internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with Internet access; and 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. For external calls, journalists are advised to use their mobiles or purchase 0800 pre-paid phone cards beforehand. Such cards are available at newsagents and train stations, but not at the ICC. Mobile phones cannot be used in the public gallery.
Satellite broadcast
Hearing will be broadcast live through Eurovision, free of rights and free of charge in Europe (W3A), Asia, North and South America and Africa (AB3 C band). Information on frequencies and updates will be available here next week.
Recording facilities
The Court will provide feed from Courtroom I to the hot-desk area of the Media Centre. The tables in the Media Centre contain plugs for the video and audio feed from the courtroom (4:3, PAL): BNC video output and XLR audio output (using 220 watt voltage and plugs standard for The Netherlands). You can record from three possible audio channels: 1 – floor, 2 – English and 3 – French. Each table contains an audio plug. If you need to record on two channels, please use another plug at another table for the second channel. The ICC does not have spare cables available for the crews.
Feed for the SNG trucks
SNG trucks can record the signal from Courtroom I from the distribution box placed in the media parking facilities. Please note that there is no power supply available at the car park and that it is therefore necessary to have a generator.
Parking facilities
Media representatives can use the parking facilities located at the intersection of Regulusweg and Wegastraat.
——————————————————————————–
For information related to audio-visual matters, please contact Violeta Willemsen-Curcic, AV Producer, at + 31 70 515 8422 or at violeta.willemsencurcic@icc-cpi.int
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Associate Legal Outreach Officer, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int.
You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/BAE7D326-2797-41C2-A22A-38F35AD86BBD.htm
The ICC and Kenya
An arm-wrestle for justice
Mar 22nd 2011, 17:16 by J.L. | DAR ES SALAAM
FROM afar, the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Kenya might look minute and provincial. In the context of Libya and Egypt, who really has time to concern themselves with the fate of six senior Kenyans wanted in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity following the country’s disputed 2007 election? True, some 1,200 Kenyans died and 300,000 were displaced, but does that measure up against the slaughter in northern Uganda, in Darfur, in Congo?
It does. Baobab would argue that the future of humanitarian law and of the ICC as an effective supranational body depends on the Kenyan case. The ICC’s chief prosecutor, a flamboyant Argentine, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has staked the court’s credibility on getting Kenya to hand over the suspects by next month. In the meantime, he has requested that Kenya remove one of the suspects, Francis Muthaura, the head of the civil service, from chairing national security meetings. There is little chance of that while Mr Muthaura has the backing of President Mwai Kibaki. Outwardly, Mr Kibaki supports the ICC. “The government wishes to inform the world that we understand, appreciate and respect the Rome Statute, the rights enshrined by the United Nations and the ICC process,” says the president’s spokesperson, Alfred Mutua. But privately Mr Kibaki is strongly opposed to letting “his boys go”. Mr Kibaki speaks for one side of a coalition government. The other side, headed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is fully supportive of the ICC. So too are the country’s leading churchmen and human-rights activists.
Kenya faces arm-wrestling between a distant judiciary, that enjoys lukewarm diplomatic backing, and an unfaltering inner circle around Mr Muthaura, which includes intelligence officers, generals, civil servants and wealthy businessmen. As a result, the ICC risks embarrassment or even failure, regardless of popular support for its prosecutions. That would make it harder for the court to bring prosecutions elsewhere. And in Kenya there is a danger of more violence and instability in next year’s elections.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2011/03/icc_and_kenya
International Criminal Court in Africa:
“It is clear that, Africans – most of whom are denied justice in their respective countries – are watching the ICC carefully. Sceptical or enthusiastic, resistant or converted to the cause of international justice, elite or masses, Africans are expecting the ICC to curb endemic manifestations of gross human rights violations. In the meantime, the configurations of the ICC mandate can set important international precedents in terms of fair and impartial trials, victims’ participation and compensation. Those standards are then expected to reverberate in domestic proceedings. The ICC also has an opportunity to set high standards in the collective memory of Africans. In the absence of national initiatives to establish the truth and bring perpetrators to account, the ICC is the only available option currently in existence for most victims. Whichever directions the ICC will take in Africa depend on its ability to rise from poor beginnings, inappropriate and often uninformed criticisms, balance expectations and reality, and to begin to play an important role in the prevention of mass atrocities.”
http://africanarguments.org/2010/07/international-criminal-court-in-africa-%E2%80%9Calea-jacta-est%E2%80%9D/
Concerning the International Criminal Court:
“Improvements and corrections on the approaches of the ICC going forward are the best avenue for our concerns. Outrage and political opposition only creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and capriciousness around international justice, democracy and stability in Africa. If we want to understand the real reason behind the vicious criticism and opposition towards the ICC is about, we first need to understand what it isn’t about. It certainly is not about reversing impunity and dictatorship. The ICC needs to be supported by Africans and it will survive the storm. The reasons are simple…”
http://www.currentanalyst.com/index.php … l-courticc
PNU WANTS TO RAISE 500M FOR OCAMPO 3
Thursday, 31 March 2011 00:00 BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY
CENTRAL Kenya MPs are seeking to raise Sh500 million shillings to help offset some of the legal costs that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura are expected to incur at the Hague.
Seven legislators met at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi yesterday to make preparations for a major fund raising event whose date is yet to be announced. The money will be solicited from well wishers through various means including mini harambees to be held countrywide, individual donations and through SMS money transfers.
Briefing the press on behalf of the MPs, the PNU secretary-general and Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi said they estimated each suspect will require at least Sh150 million for their legal fees.
He said that, after a consultative meeting, the leaders had resolved to show solidarity by assisting the trio to raise the money.“We have also commenced consultations with a view to setting up an SMS line where their supporters will contribute their money,” Kiraitu announced. Conservative estimates have put the total cost of the six going through a full trial at not less than Sh4 billion.
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua had in February caused a public furore when he announced that taxpayers would fund the legal defence for the the public servants. He disputed the Sh4 billion estimate without explanation.
Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali are due to appear before the International Criminal Court next week after the court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accused them and ODM’s William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and radio presenter Joshua Sang, of bearing the greatest responsibility in the post election violence.
Sang has also been raising money from his supporters mainly in Rift Valley. He raised Sh1.6 million at a funds drive held in Eldoret on Tuesday night and more money was expected to be raised at yet another even scheduled to be held tonight at the Railway Club in Nairobi.
Ruto has previously said he will take care of his legal costs himself and does not need anyone to raise money for him. He also declined the offer of support from ODM.
The ODM is divided over whether or not to hire lawyers for its party chairman Kosgey and its deputy leader Ruto. While a section of the party lead by the deputy secretary-general Joseph Nkaissery and the party’s parliamentary secretary Ababu Namwamba have announced that the party will hire lawyers for Ruto, Sang and Kosgey, the party secretary general Anyang’ Nyong’o has insisted that the party has not taken such a decision.
Yesterday Kiraitu said that while PNU had initially planned to raise money for their own people, if the party decided to include the ODM suspects in their fund raising, their target would be revised from Sh500 million to Sh1 billion.
Some of the MPs who attended the meeting included Kiraitu Mathira’s Ephraim Maina, Ferdinand Waititu of Embakasi, Lewis Nguyai of Kikuyu, Mukurweini ‘s Kabando wa Kabando and Nakuru town’s Lee Kinjanjui .
Earlier Kiraitu and Maina had intimated that the harambee will be in aid of all the Ocampo Six but Kabando interjected to clarify that it will only cover the three PNU suspects.
The plan has raised concerns with questions being asked why the MPs are rushing to bail out the Ocampo Six and yet they had failed to come to the assistance of thousands of internally displaced people who are still stuck in makeshift camps as the government claims it is seeking funds to resettle them. Just last week, Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi announced that Sh2 billion was needed to resettle over 7,000 IDP still living in 23 camps scattered across the Rift Valley.
The motive for the fund raising was intimated when Kiraitu accused Ocampo of deliberately politicising the Kenya case and demanded that it be expedited.“Justice delayed is justice denied. We call upon ICC not to be party to influencing and rigging the outcomes of 2012 election. We therefore, condemn any process that will subject the alleged perpetrators to unduly prolonged trials, thus denying them their right and opportunity to be elected in Kenya’s democracy,” Kiraitu said.
In Parliament, Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua warned the government against using public funds to pay the legal bills for the Ocampo six.
Contributing to the debate on a motion moved by Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta seeking the approval of Parliament to spend Sh36 billion between now and June, Karua said the suspects should fund raise instead of using public funds.
She questioned the allocations in the supplementary budget which Uhuru said was for enhancing security.“What is the enhanced security? Is it public rallies in support for the Ocampo Six?,” said Karua.
The Gichugu MP also said that public funds should not be used in campaigning against the ICC as some politicians have been doing. “This is a big boy’s club, never mind the ages of the big boys,” she added.
She said it was ironical that those who were presently opposed to the ICC process had voted against the Special Tribunal Bill when she brought in in Parliament in February 2009 when she was Justice minister. She said some of those who now wanted a local process had mobilized their allies in Parliament to ensure the same Bill is defeated.“Where did you vote? I stood before this House saying a local tribunal is the best for the country, but you said let’s not be vague, let’s go to The Hague. Hague has come, take The Hague quietly,” Karua said.
ICC MAY FREEZE OCAMPO SIX ASSETS .
Monday, 04 April 2011 00:02 BY FRANCIS MUREITHI AND PAUL ILADO
International Criminal Court agents have been tracing and profiling the assets owned by the Ocampo Six ahead of their appearance in court this week.
The agents have profiled investments valued at Sh20 billion reportedly owned by one of the suspects even as they draw up detailed lists and verify information provided by other suspects.
The assets probe, which started months ago, officially started on March 8 after the pre-trial chamber judges issued summons.“We have a deadline to trace these assets and investments both in Kenya and abroad. So far the bulk of the assets we have traced belong to one suspect and his family. All this information will be handed over to the relevant arm of the court so that if the court wants these assets and bank accounts frozen, then they know where they are,” said an agents who cannot be identified because he is not authorised to speak to reporters.
The ICC is believed to have hired different asset-tracing firms to keep track of the money that two of the six suspects have been moving around in their attempt to conceal the cash.
Families and relatives of some of the suspects are said to have become increasingly agitated as fears grow of the possibility of ICC ordering a freeze on their assets or accounts.
Wanted by ICC are deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and radio journalist Joshua Sang’.
One of the suspects has in the past few months transferred millions in cash and assets to his lawyer who is supposed to hold them in trust. An offshore firm registered in the Cayman Islands is also reported to have taken up his shares in a well known insurance business.
A second suspect has sold assets valued at Sh10 billion, including hundreds of hectares of land and a food processing business.“In one of the companies known to belong to the suspect’s family, the shareholding was transferred last week on Wednesday to one of the partners who is very close to the family,” the agent said. A number of top law firms in the city are reportedly involved in the transfers.
Under the Rome Statute, once a suspect has been summoned or a warrant of arrest issued, the ICC judges have powers to issue orders freezing the assets and accounts of any suspect at the request of the chief prosecutor.
Article 57 (e) provides that ICC seizure of a suspect’s assets or accounts is done as a “protective” measure in case a suspect is convicted and fined and if cash is needed to compensate victims.
Once the suspect is tried and convicted, the judges can issue an order for transfer of such assets into the Victims’ Trust Fund for disbursement to victims as reparations. But if the suspect is found innocent, the court must lift the freeze order.
Articles 57 (e) and 58 sets out how the court can issue a warrant while Article 93 compels the government to assist the court in “the identification, tracing and freezing or seizure of proceeds, property and assets and instrumentalities of crimes for the purpose of eventual forfeiture, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.
It is not immediately clear if the government has helped the ICC, but the Star established ICC representatives have met senior officers at the Attorney General’s office to discuss asset tracing.
In January, the ICC wrote to the Cabinet sub-committee on ICC chaired by Internal Security minister George Saitoti, requesting for support in tracing, freezing or seizure of property of the Ocampo Six when the Pre-Trial Chamber judges issue summons.
In the letter, the ICC stated the procedure of tracing and freezing or seizure of proceeds, property and assets for the purpose of eventual forfeiture and compensation to the victims of the violence.
Under the International Crimes Act (2008), the government is bound to cooperate with the ICC regarding tracing and seizure of assets owned by ICC suspects.
Article 106 (a) and (b) of the Act states that where the ICC requests assistance in identifying, tracing and freezing, or seizing, any property for the purpose of eventual forfeiture, the Attorney General shall only give authority for the request to proceed only if he is satisfied the request relates to an international crime and the property is or may be located in Kenya.
Article 130 (1) of the provides that “any money or property, including the proceeds of sale of property, recovered as a result of the enforcement under this Part of an order of the ICC shall be transferred to the ICC”.
MPs supported the passage of International Crimes Bill when it was brought to the House by Amos Wako at the end of 2008 with President Kibaki signing it into law immediately it was approved by MPs. By that time, majority of MPs were pushing for Hague trials as opposed to a local tribunal. It is this Act that effectively domesticated the Rome Statute.
ICC has already frozen the assets and accounts of Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba who is on trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The decision to freeze his assets was taken by the court three days after he was arrested in Brussels, Belgium, following issuance of a warrant of arrest. The former DRC vice-president was arrested on May 24, 2008 while his trial started in November last year after the court rejected his application that the trial be dropped.
After Bemba’s accounts were frozen, he complained he could not raise money for his defence and applied to the ICC to meet the cost. The application was rejected and the court re-opened one of Bemba’s account held in a bank in Portugal so he could pay his lawyers and support his family.
An estimated $6 million (Sh480 million) assets belonging to former Liberian President Charles Taylor held in ten countries in Europe were frozen after a United Nations-backed special war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone started prosecuting him for war crimes. The then Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Stephen Rapp announced that once there is proof that the money belongs to Taylor, the Special Court will bill him for his legal defence currently offered free. The UN Security Council is also pressurising the Liberian government to freeze Taylor’s assets in Liberia.
The Republic of Kenya
ICC-01/09-01/11 Pre-trial
Case The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Situations+and+Cases/Situations/Situation+ICC+0109/Related+Cases/ICC01090111/ICC01090111.htm
The Republic of Kenya
ICC-01/09-02/11 Pre-trial
Case The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Situations+and+Cases/Situations/Situation+ICC+0109/Related+Cases/ICC01090211/ICC01090111.htm
http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/4C6DB572-93EA-4849-8725-192F2977946F/0/2011calendarbilingual.pdf