20100713
allafrica

Nairobi — THE International Criminal Court investigators have zeroed in on two Cabinet ministers, one former and one sitting MP as their main targets for prosecution, the Star has established.

The investigators have recorded statements from witnesses whose testimony is considered crucial to indict the four people.

The detectives also have credible evidence about a senior police officer who reportedly issued shoot-to-kill orders to his juniors during the post-election violence.

One of the key witnesses whose testimony has been corroborated by others is being relocated to Europe where he will be held in a safe-house until he is summoned to appear before the tribunal.

"He has already been issued with a passport and other necessary documents in readiness for him to be taken out. His family of three will follow him to the secret location," said very close family sources who are aware of the relocation plan.

At least 30 people who witnessed first-hand the mayhem or were aware of the planning and execution of the violence have been interrogated. Most of them relocated from their homes a month ago when they started receiving threats soon after being questioned by the ICC investigators.

"I am still in hiding because l was really scared. The four foreigners who interrogated me said they were from the ICC and promised to get in touch which they have yet to do," one of the witnesses said from a safe house in Nairobi.

The ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo promised to complete his investigations by October. He is expected to present the evidence to the pre-trial chamber after this and request the court to issue warrants of arrests for the key suspects.

In March this year and following a request for additional information, Ocampo named 20 people whom he said held the most responsibility for the violence which swept through many parts of the country following the December 2007 General Election.

Ocampo said that while the list he had received from Chief Mediator Kofi Annan contained nearly 20 names, he was unlikely to prosecute all of them. He said his intention was to prosecute five or six people who had the greatest responsibility and use them to set an example for the future.

In November last year, Ocampo sought authorisation from the ICC pre-trial chamber to open an investigation into the violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed and over 300,000 forced to leave their homes.

At the time, Ocampo indicated that the key suspects were senior leaders from both PNU and ODM and were guided by political motive to retain or gain power.

"They utilised their personal, government, business and tribal network to commit the crimes," Ocampo said.

Since March, teams of investigators have been in the country collecting information. Their main areas of focus are towns in Rift Valley which bore the brunt of the violence and where most of the deaths and displacement occurred.

The teams have focused their probe on three areas which include the Kiambaa KAG Church incident in Eldoret in which at least 38 women and children were locked in a church before it was set ablaze; the revenge killings in Naivasha following the church attack and the indiscriminate shooting of rioting civilians by the police in Eldoret, Kisumu and Nairobi.

Apart from the witnesses who appeared before the Justice Philip Waki-chaired commission, the ICC teams have recorded statements from fresh witnesses who may not have been able to testify before Waki because of certain constraints.

Multiple sources within civil society groups who have been working with the ICC said the investigating teams had been able to cover a lot of ground as many of the political leadership was engaged in the ongoing referendum campaigns.

And in anticipation of the arrests of the four suspects before the end of the year, the National Commission on Integration and Cohesion has already carried out an assessment survey of what the situation could be like if this happened. Commission chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia who visited Rift Valley a week ago said they were putting in place mechanisms for mitigation against any unrest or uncertainty should the ICC decision cause instability in the country.

"We are looking at the possible reactions by the people in the eventuality of such a decision by the ICC. We are considering how communities will perceive the arrests. Will they look at the arrests as if the ICC will be targeting the individuals or communities?" said Kibunjia.

Meanwhile, the ICC last night issued a second warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir.

The ICC pre-trial chamber considers that there are reasonable grounds to believe him responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

This second arrest warrant does not replace or revoke the first warrant of arrest issued against Al Bashir on March 4, 2009, which still remains in effect. The previous arrest warrant was issued as the ICC believed that Al Bashir was criminally responsible for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts for war crimes.

Following the issuance of the second arrest warrant, the ICC registrar is expected to issue a supplementary request for co-operation in the arrest and surrender of Al Bashir from competent Sudanese authorities, to all States Parties to the Rome Statute, and to all the United Nations Security Council members that are not States Parties to the Statute.