Pre-Broadcast Transcript to KSB from Aljazeera
Kenyan presidential candidate and ICC defendant Uhuru Kenyatta has told Al Jazeera that he will continue to appear before the court in the Hague even if he is elected president in the upcoming vote. Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, have been charged with war crimes by the International Court relating to the 2008 post-election violence. Al Jazeera’s Folly Bah Thibault asked Kenyatta how he would defend himself while at the same time running the affairs of the country. Kenyatta said he was confident about the outcome of his trial in the Hague in April.
More than 1300 people were killed in the ethnic violence that followed the disputed vote. Kenyatta says he is innocent and denies any links with the Mungiki sect, one of the key militias involved in some of the most terrible violence. He also said PM Raila Odinga shares responsibility for the chaos.
The full interviews will run on Al Jazeera English at the following times: Tue 22/1 16h30G; Wed 23/1 11h30G; Thu 24/1 03h30G; Fri 25/1 07h30G
TRANSCRIPT:
Kenyatta: “Even as we continue to face these charges we will still continue to appear. The affairs of government…”
Folly Bah Thibault: “But there could be a power vacuum as soon as you are inaugurated if you have to go back and forward to the Hague. Those hearings last months. Uhuru Kenyatta, how are you going to do it?”
UK: “There is absolutely no power vacuum because one thing that people always tend to forget is that Kenya is not a banana republic. Kenya is a country that actually has really firm and clear institutions in place that would allow…
FBT: “For you to shadow between Nairobi and the Hague…”
UK: “And we also are not facing similar charges. We are never there at the same time if at all. So consequently the system and the state will continue to run regardless of the court. The two are not interlinked.
FBT: “If Kenyans vote for you, if they vote you in, will that vindicate you? Would that mean you are innocent?”
Kenyatta: “I am not going to say that it means I am innocent but it will show as we have consistently stated that the charges and how they have been brought about, the Kenyans themselves put to question the charges that have been leveled against us.”
FBT: “If Kenyans vote for you, will that then mean that international justice doesn’t have a purpose anymore?”
UK: “Clearly… I am not saying that international justice doesn’t have a purpose… But if Kenyans do vote for us, it will mean that Kenyans themselves have questioned how and the process that has landed us at the International Criminal Court but that does not mean that we will cease to cooperate because as I have said most importantly we understand and recognize the rule of law and we will continue to cooperate as long as we are signatories to the Rome Statute.”
UK: “I was not a candidate for Presidency. William Ruto was not a candidate for Presidency. If today as you are asking me: What will you do? I think one of the principle people you should ask who is responsible for the violence is Raila Odinga who is my current opponent, who was a candidate in 2007. So consequently: You who wants to assume leadership, You who wants to give this country directions, You who is leading a team, ultimately that is where responsibility accounts and matters, so consequently that question should be addressed by the two individuals who were seeking presidency in 2007.”
FBT: “Let me ask you this, Raila Odinga isn’t facing charges at the ICC. Should he? Should he have been on the Ocampo list?
UK: “The question that I was asked by Mister Ocampo when I was at the pre-trial was whether Raila Odinga should face criminal charges in the ICC… I said I am not an investigator, but what I do know is that Raila Odinga has political responsibility for the chaos that occurred in 2007. I stand by that position.”
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA ENGLISH
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Thats a big childish Lie! WeVe seen Saadam Hussein, Colnel Muamar Gadafi of Libya ,Gen Noriega of Panama,Baba Doc of Haiti, Talibans of Afghanistan, Slobodan Mirocevic of Former Yugoslavia, General Muradic and Dr Kalansic. Charles Taylor Of Liberia, and Bagbo of Ivort Coast ,Who is Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.
The first time a Nigger from Southern Sahara of Africa resisting her Master ,Is it going to work?
Will it work; me i doubt . . Where will be justice for the Victims ? Is ICC in Hague a toothless dog?
Something drastic and radical must be put in place to frighten these two human rights violators in Kenya and elsewhere.
I marvel at the courage of the two Jubilee captains. Lets pray hard for our country’s peace and stability because it’s only God who knows the hidden agenda of these two. May be another branch of Kenyan state house will be built at the Hague. God forbid.
why is Siaya nominations a big deal? Look at Othaya Madame Wambui named Winner amidst protests by other aspirants of rigging all the way to stuffed ballot boxes? I don’t hear voices condemning Mama Kibaki having been rigged in? Saiya is being made to be a big issue just because of Raila’s brother
How about Wambui and Kibaki connection in the Othaya seat?
I think destruction games are what are being played here and else where about Siaya politics to remove scrutiny from jubilee & other parties primary elections..
examples are What happened to Martha Karua’s Narc Party?
how about Peter Kenneth’s party?
where the Hell are the results from these parties?
R
Why Uhuru, ruto ticket is bad news for Kenya
Last updated on 8 Jan 08 2013 08:34
By Prof. David O. Monda
The election of the Uhuru Ruto ticket in the March 4th 2013 elections will have significant repercussions Kenya.
Domestically, it will go against the spirit of Chapter Six of the Constitution and will encourage the culture of impunity. It will also lead to a further ethnic balkanization of the country based on regional tribal zones.
Internationally, if a warrant is sent out for their arrest, Uhuru and Ruto will face the threat arrest overseas.
Kenya could face sanctions from key development partners including the US, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and France. In addition to a collapse of the tourist industry, diaspora remittances from Kenyans in the US and U.K could also be affected by crippling sanctions.
It is time Kenyans took a hard look to the reality of the nation’s situation in the international arena. Kofi Annan was not just speaking as a tourist, but a statesman. Voting the Uhuru-Ruto ticket in on purely ethnic lines will be a big step backward for Kenya.
The writer Prof. David O. Monda is an Associate Professor at Ashford University
Hold your horses, Kibaki could still be with us awhile
Last updated on 21 Jan 21 2013 00:00
Dominic Odipo
If the Good Lord preserves him, as we pray He will, when is the earliest date that President Kibaki can hand over the presidency to his successor? And when is the latest date that the President can leave office?
To answer these questions, we need to read very carefully Sections 138 through to 140 of the new Constitution. After you read these sections very carefully, you may or may not be surprised to realise that nobody can tell you for sure when Kibaki will leave office.
According to Section 138(4) of the Constitution, a candidate shall be declared elected as President if the candidate receives — (a) more than half of all the votes cast in the election; and (b) at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties.
But Section 138(10) then stipulates that “Within seven days after the presidential election, the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shall declare the results of the election; and deliver a written notification of the result to the Chief Justice and the incumbent President.”
This means that if the presidential elections were held on March 4, 2013, which will be a Monday, then the IEBC must declare the winner and notify the Chief Justice and the incumbent President by the next Monday, March 11, 2013. In this case, we would then expect the new president to be inaugurated not later than Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
However, if no candidate wins the presidency outright in the first round, then we shall have to revert to Section 138(5), which states, “If no candidate is elected, a fresh election shall be held within 30 days after the previous election…”
So, if we have to go into the second round, then we shall have to vote again to choose between the two top candidates by votes not later than April 4, which will be the Thursday after the Easter weekend. If this happens, then the declaration of election results and notification of the results to the Chief Justice would have to be done between Friday, April 5 and Thursday, April 11.
For Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who are both facing criminal charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, these dates could become very ominous indeed. Since their cases begin on Wednesday, April 10, the ICC could require them to be physically present at The Hague a few days before the trials begin on April 10.
If the Court requires that they be present at The Hague say one week before the trials begin, then they would miss both the run-off elections and subsequent inauguration if they happen to have got that far, if the election is held any time after April 3.
If they happen to get to the second round but are required to appear at The Hague before the run-off date, what would happen?
Would their opponent in the run-off be declared president in default or would the third-placed presidential candidate square it off with the one who had run against them in the run-off in another fresh election? Unfortunately, the Constitution does not say anything about what would happen in such circumstances.
The point here is that these looming ICC cases could complicate the coming presidential elections much more than it might be appearing at the moment.
Cooling their heels
But there is yet another constitutional complication. According to Section 140(1), any person may file a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the election of the President-elect within seven days after the date of the declaration of the results of the presidential election.
The Supreme Court will then have 14 days within which to hear and determine this petition and its decision shall be final.
“If the Supreme Court determines the election of the President-elect to be invalid, a fresh election shall be held within 60 days after the determination.”
This means that, in the present circumstances, if any person goes to court to challenge the results of the March 4 presidential elections, then the final outcome of these elections will not be known until, at the latest, Monday, April 1.
If, however, the Supreme Court agrees with the petitioner and finds that the election of the President-elect was actually invalid, then a fresh election would have to be held in early June, depending on what date the Court makes its determination. And, by this time, both Uhuru and Ruto would be cooling their heels at The Hague.
To get back to the question we raised at the beginning of this piece, the earliest President Kibaki could leave office is probably on Tuesday, March 19 after the IEBC has declared the results of the elections, formally notified the Chief Justice and Kibaki himself and the Supreme Court has confirmed that no person has petitioned it to declare the results of the presidential election invalid.
On the other hand, the latest that Kibaki could leave office cannot be determined now, given what the Constitution expressly says about the presidential elections.
The Constitution does not say anything about what would happen if another petitioner went to the Supreme Court to challenge the results of the fresh elections, which would be held within 60 days of the Supreme Court determining that the initial elections were invalid.
Accordingly, those who are already shouting from the rooftops that the March 4 presidential elections are virtually over and that their candidate will be in State House by Tuesday, March 5, could be in for a very rude shock.
The writer is a lecturer and consultant in Nairobi.
Reblogged this on My Blog.
Yet again ,the Kenyan style of running national affairs of a nation from Hague, the Uhuru Kenyatta style. Common sense seems to have elluded this kenyan and it is far fetched for Uhuru. We are talking about 40 or more people in kenya. I do not need to have a degree to see the game being played here by hiding behind the constitution. Integrity, do i know the meaning of the word? Some one help kenyans to understand section 6 of the constitution.
We Must love our Bonobo Cousins>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21131703