PRESS RLEASE
Our attention has been drawn to a statement by Hon. William Ruto, the MP for Eldoret North and the presumed Presidential candidate of the United Republican Party (URP) in response to remarks made by the Rt. Hon. Raila A. Odinga, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya when he met elders drawn from the Kalenjin Community in Eldoret yesterday.
In an ineffectual attempt to dodge the issue at hand, namely their desperate attempts to use pending trials at the International Criminal Court as a justification for balkanizing Kenya into ethnic enclaves, Hon. Ruto resorts to the same old rhetoric that it is the Prime Minister who opposed local process and propagated for the trial of post-election violence suspects at the Hague-based court.
This is not only a manifestation of the disrespect and disdain with which the honourable MP holds the Kenyan people but also a total contradiction of existing records to the same effect; including but not limited to the Hansard. Pursuant to recommendations that suspects of the 2007/8 post-election violence suspects be prosecuted, a debate ensued on whether that could be done locally or internationally through the ICC.
Hon. Ruto was the conductor of the choir whose hit song was “Don’t be vague, go for the Hague.” Hon. Ruto opted for the Hague process and urged people to shun vagueness on the matter. In his thinking at that point in time, proceedings would have started in 2090, which was then in his view way beyond the lifetimes of most of us.
Whereas we in this campaign wish Hon. Ruto and his co-accused an impartial process in regard to this matter, we further re-iterate the Prime Minister’s advice to them that these charges can only be disapproved in court – but not through political rallies or ethnic alliances.
Raila Odinga’s Campaign Secretariat
6th November 2012
About the Author
In 2009, The following politicians voted in parliament that Uhuru, Ruto and et al should go to Hague: ‘…Hansard Reports, from the Kenya National Assembly. They are for diverse dates, between January and December 2009. They make for very interesting reading. At page 4,633 of February 3, he has underlined part of contribution by the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development, Mr M Kilonzo. It reads, ‘In fact there is a phrase going on which is called ‘Don’t be vague; go for Hague.’ I flip through and come to page 4,636. There is Mr Cyrus Jirongo saying, ‘Those who perpetrated violence are in Government . . . If we are genuine and we want these people to be punished, we should allow them to go to The Hague.’ Over page, Mr Jirongo goes on, ‘. . . I urge the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion to let those people go to The Hague, if her conscience pricks her correctly.’
As I move on, I see page 4,638 where Ms Rachel Shebesh says, ‘I see no reason why, if people were genuine, you would tell me that going to The Hague can bring peace to this country . . . I see no way in which you can be sincere.’ I am now looking at February 4, 2009, at page 4,723. There is Mr Lewis Nguyai. He says, ‘I also say there is need to end the culture of impunity . . . I would propose that we should not be vague. We want the key perpetrators of this particular atrocities (sic) to go to The Hague.’ I recall Mr Nguiyai was recently Kenyatta’s witness at The Hague. I begin to get it, I think. ‘…Ms Elizabeth Ongoro, ‘Through setting up a local tribunal, we will be telling our citizens that we are brothers, we have what it takes to solve our problems.’
Mr Lucas Chepkitony, ‘Let us try the ICC.’ Ms Cecily Mbarire, ‘We have spent too much time on tribunals and commissions. I oppose the Bill (to set up a local tribunal). Thomas Mwadeghu, ‘Ni lazima hao watu waende Hague. Wacha waende wahukumiwe huko (These people must go to The Hague.’ Mr Johnstone Muthama, ‘Jaji atakuwa Mkamba, Mkikuyu . . . Ni vyema tugeuze mbinu. Ndege zitakuja, watapelekwa kule na kuiacha nchi yetu na amani (The judge will be Kamba or Kikuyu . . . we must change tact. Aeroplanes will come; they will go and leave us a peaceful country).’
Finally, I look at the voting. Among those who voted against a local tribunal are listed as the following: Chepchumba,
Cheruiyot,
Ethuro,
Gaichuchie,
Gitau,
Jirongo,
Kaino,
Kaloki,
Kamau JI,
Kamau JM,
Kambi,
Kapondi,
Kariuki,
Kathuri,
Kigen,
Kiilu,
Kilonzo J K,
Kilonzo J M,
Kiuna, Kivuti,
Koech,
Konchela,
Dr Kones,
Mrs Kones,
Kuttuny,
Lagat,
Langat,
Lessonet,
Letimalo,
Linturi,
Litole,
M’Mithiaru,
Machage,
Magerer,
Mbau,
Mbugwa,
Mututho,
Mung’aro,
Munyaka,
Muoki I.M,
Muoki D M,
Mureithi,
Murgor,
Musyimi,
Mwangi,
Mwathi,
Mwiru,
Nguiyai,
Njuguna,
Onyancha,
Ottichilo,
Ruto,
Sambu,
Sirma,
Waibara,
Waititu,
Wambugu,
Washiali,
Were,
Yakub.
I recall the night President Kibaki, Premier Raila and Martha Karua pleaded with MPs for a local tribunal for PEV to no avail’. There is no name of Raila Odinga! Who is being fooled?
Extracted from Mr. Barack Muluka’s article.
Monday, 05 November 2012
Raila Faults Uhuru, Ruto Over ICC Cases
Prime Minister Raila Odinga has on Monday faulted DPM Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto strategy over ICC cases facing them.
Speaking in Eldoret after meeting Kalenjin elders, Odinga said it was wrong for the two leaders to imagine that they will escape the ICC process once they were elected as President and Deputy.
Odinga said the strategy the two leaders are using to whip up support on the basis of the ICC was misplaced and reminded them that the process will go on despite the outcome of the March 4th elections.
The PM and ODM leader who is also eyeing the country’s Presidency in the elections said if elected as President in the elections, he will strive to have the two cases at the Hague referred to Kenya.
Odinga was speaking after meeting Kalenjin elders from the North Rift in his bid to win them back to his side after a fall-out with its leaders led by Eldoret North MP William Ruto.
The PM said that contrary to widely believed claims, he was not behind the quest to have the leaders charged at the ICC.
It was on that basis that he said he will be pursuing to have the ICC cases facing the four suspects referred to Kenya.
This was the second meeting Odinga was holding with Kalenjin elders but the first with those from the North Rift.
Last week, the PM held a similar meeting with Kalenjin elders from the South Rift during which, he apologized to them if he had wronged them.
The apology by Odinga was however accepted by MPs allied to Ruto but with a rider that the ODM leader will not get the Kalenjin vote.
But speaking today, Odinga dismissed the URP allied leaders saying it was wrong for them to demand that he states what he had wronged the Kalenjin community.
Quoting from the bible, “What kind of Christians are they if they don’t know that we ask God to forgive us without saying what wrong we have done,” said the PM.
The PM also rubbished the notion that the ODM MPs who have since joined URP helped win over the votes in the vote-rich province saying it was the Kalenjin people themselves who supported him.
Among the leaders who were present included Ministers Dr Sally Kosgey and Henry Kosgey who have been spearheading campaign for the PM in the region.
By Daniel Korir
Activist Omtatah seriously injured in night attack
By NYAMBEGA GISESA
Thursday, November 8 2012
Civil activist Okoiti Omtatah was seriously injured after unknown assailants attacked him on Thursday night in Nairobi’s central business area.
Mr Omtatah lost four incisors in the 9.20pm attack along Kenyatta avenue.
He was also stitched on the forehead and the back of his head, doctors at the Nairobi Outpatient Hospital told Nation.
“He arrived here about 9.40 pm bleeding profusely and in a semi-unconscious state. We had to stitch his head and do IV fluid resuscitation because he had lost a lot of blood,” a doctor at the facility who requested not to be named said.
Mr Omtatah said the assailants had called out his name before asking him whether he intends to drop a case he has filed touching on the procurement of the Biometric Voter Registration kits.
“When I told them that I will not stop the case they immediately attacked me,” he said, adding that nothing was stolen from him despite carrying valuables that included two phones and Sh10, 000 in his pockets.
He was attacked shortly after alighting from a bus on his way back to town from his office located
in the Community Hill area.
He said he had stayed late in office to finalize on a case he intended to file in court next Monday against “illegal payment of MPs for 14 days as from January 1, 2008 to January 14, 2008.”
Last week, Mr Omtatah amended his case to directly include IEBC Chairman Isaak Hassan, CEO James Oswago and Finance Minister Njeru Githae as respondents.
“I will not stop the case because Kenyans are losing almost Sh10 billion in this fraud. I want this money to be recovered from his individuals,” Mr Omtatah said.
He said that he wants the government to make public details of the BVR procurement.
“Omtatah is standing for the right of Kenyans and this is why some people are now fighting him,” activist George Nyongesa, who was among the first people to arrive at the hospital, said.
ICC rejects Uhuru, Muthaura appeal
By Felix Olick November 10 2012
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have rejected an application by two Kenyans facing crimes against humanity at The Hague to have their cases heard in either Kenya or Tanzania.
The three-judge Bench rejected applications by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Former Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura to have their trials moved from The Hague.
According to the judges, an application or recommendation changing the place where the Court sits may be filed at any time after the initiation of an investigation, either by the prosecutor, the defence or by a majority of the judges.
They argued the application or recommendation changing the place of sitting should be addressed to the Presidency who satisfy itself of the views of the relevant Chamber.
“The Presidency shall consult the State where the court intends to sit. If that State agrees that the court can sit in that State, then the decision to sit in a State other than the host State shall be taken by the judges, in plenary session, by a two-thirds majority,” noted the judges in their ruling.
The judges led by presiding Judge Kuniko Ozaki however noted that the Rome Statute provides for the possibility of the court sitting away from The Hague but certain procedure must be followed.
Reduce costs
“This provision is elaborated upon in Rule 100 of the Rules, which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event an alternative sitting place is considered,” they argued.
In May, the defence team of Uhuru submitted an application to the bench requesting the trial be held in the Kenya citing expenses and to ensure the judicial process takes place within the territory affected.
Muthaura also requested the court to consider the possibility of holding the trial in Kenya or in Arusha, Tanzania, at the premises of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
His defence had argued that changing the place of the proceedings would reduce the disruption and strain that the trial would place on the accused.
They also argued that it could additionally reduce costs relating to witness travel, reduce disruption to victims and ensure the judicial process remains in, or in proximity to, the territory concerned.
Uhuru and Muthaura have been accused of allegedly being criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators of crimes against humanity of murder, deportation or forcible transfer of persons rape and persecution.
Other suspects are Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Radio journalist Joshua Sang.
At least seven police officers killed in Samburu raid
Posted by BERNARD MOMANYI and CORRESPONDENT on November 10, 2012
Villagers in the area have blamed police for failing to put in place adequate security measures to protect them against cattle rustlers. FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 10 – At least seven police officers were killed and more than 20 others seriously wounded after they were ambushed by gunmen in Samburu on Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred when the officers pursuing cattle rustlers were ambushed in Baragoi.
Ten other police officers were reportedly missing following the heavy gun fight with heavily armed bandits.
Police said officers who sustained injuries will be airlifted to Nairobi for specialized treatment.
“At least seven officers have been killed, others have been injured and we have a few others missing,” a senior police officer in the region said.
Rift Valley Provincial Police chief John Mbijiwe confirmed the incident but did not comment on the casualty figures given to us by other senior officers involved in the security operation.
“The officers were pursuing stolen cattle when they were ambushed,” another officer said.
The cattle rustlers the officers were pursuing on Sunday had raided villages in Lomirok on October 30 when they shot and killed 13 people and wounded 3 others.
Villagers in the area have blamed police for failing to put in place adequate security measures to protect them against cattle rustlers.
Police however, insist communities in the region are to blame because they engage in retaliatory attacks whenever a cattle rustling incident occurs.
KIKUYUS here in the US did NOT vote for OBAMA ….. SHOCKING
Unbelievable and disturbing when shall this rivalry/ hate end.
Kikuyu Americans did not vote for Obama just because he has Luo blood. A self confessed couple (pictured) who have lived in America for the last 17 yrs said their votes belonged to Romney and not Obama.
When asked why they were supporting Romney instead of fellow country man Obama, the couple without blinking an eye clearly stated that it’s because Obama had Luo blood in him.
Surely Kenyans in the Diaspora, should we take our ethnic domestic squabbles majuu (abroad) and wash our dirty linen in public.
NKT, Shame on Mr and Mrs Kiragu. Ohio State
Ruto: Why I prefer The Hague route
Agriculture minister William Ruto wants the secret envelope containing names of the post-election violence suspects handed over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague without further delay.
Mr Ruto says the two-month period given by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to Kenya to make a new attempt at setting up a local tribunal to try the suspects was unnecessary.
“Kofi Annan should hand over the envelope that contains names of suspects to the International Criminal Court at The Hague so that proper investigations can start,” Mr Ruto said. “Mr Annan should allow us to move forward. We cannot just get stuck in one place addressing the same thing.”
Mr Ruto’s latest stand contradicts the position of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, leader of his ODM party, who prefers a local tribunal.
A government motion to set up a special local tribunal was defeated in Parliament earlier this month, raising the possibility that suspects whose names were given to Mr Annan in a sealed envelope by the Waki Commssion could be taken to The Hague for trial.
The Hague option was to be activated should Kenya fail to establish a local tribunal as proposed by the commission that investigated the post-election violence.
Mr Ruto – whose constituency was among those worst hit by violence — spoke during the week he weathered a storm in Parliament over a maize scandal in which brokers are believed to have benefited by trading with national food security reserves at a time when the country was facing widespread hunger.
The minister described the attempt to pass a no-confidence motion against him as his most trying moment politically.
“It touches the soft belly of the nation. Food and hunger are very sensitive and delicate issues. When a whole machine has been turned against you as the cause of hunger in the face of hungry people, it is very trying to try to explain your contribution. Thank God I managed to explain myself,” the minister told the Sunday Nation.
In a wide-raging interview Friday, Mr Ruto maintained that Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua had approached him seeking to form a political alliance ahead of the 2012 elections.
“She attempted to draft me into the 2012 succession game. She sent emissaries to me, and we met twice, but I declined because we had just come out of a very difficult time of violence. She has tried to deny this saying I had baggage. When did she discover I had baggage, and which William Ruto was she desperately looking for?” he asked.
But Ms Karua told the Sunday Nation that there was no way she would have sought an alliance with “someone who has baggage over corruption cases”.
Ms Karua has repeatedly asked Mr Ruto to “take political responsibility” and resign over the maize scandal. The matter attracted a new ally for Mr Ruto in Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi, who challenged Ms Karua to show what practical steps she had taken to fight corruption instead of asking her colleagues to resign.
Analysts saw Mr Murungi’s stand as the purchase of political insurance from Mr Ruto should the Energy minister have to face a censure motion in Parliament over the Triton scandal involving petrol storage and distribution.
However, Mr Murungi said that his position was informed by a principled stand against “the doctrine of political responsibility where ministers pay for the crimes of civil servants.”
And speaking in Sotik on Saturday, Mr Ruto faulted the Waki Commission’s post-election violence report yet again, saying it was “full of rumours and hearsay”.
He said it was misleading for the report to state that the violence had no relation with the announcement of the presidential results.
The minister alleged that the Waki report targeted those who complained about the outcome of the last General Election while leaving out those who he claimed engineered an alleged electoral fraud.
And for a third time, the extent of the frosty relations within the grand coalition Cabinet came out in the open.
Mr Ruto accused Ms Karua of “doing nothing” to fight corruption and asked her to resign.
The minister was accompanied by his Roads counterpart Franklin Bett, assistant minister for Energy Charles Keter, MPs Joyce Laboso (Sotik), Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu), Francis Chachu (North Horr) and Sotik DC Amphrey Nakitare.
Mr Ruto said that witch-hunting would not help improve the lives of Kenyans and urged leaders to come up with coherent plans to fight corruption instead of fomenting political hate. He urged Kenyan leaders to take responsibility and lead from the front if they expect to build a united and healthy nation.
The minister at the same time censured church leaders who publicly criticised President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga during a meeting at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
He said it would have been more equitable had the church leaders booked appointments with the President and the PM at State House to discuss their issues.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/533390/-/view/printVersion/-/pcy1h8z/-/index.html