20101009
Nation

Nairobi — In the matter of Luis Moreno-Ocampo versus certain unnamed politicians, the verdict is out. And it is a clear victory for the Argentine.

Many Kenyans hope that Mr Moreno-Ocampo's achievements in helping tackle our culture of political violence lie in the future.

They feel that we will only be able to celebrate when the people who ordered the burning of churches filled with grandmothers and toddlers are arrested.

That until the ethnic warrior-kings who gave the money to the militias whose machetes sliced through the wombs of pregnant women in Naivasha are brought to justice only then will a nation that has suffered too long be able to exhale.

But perhaps Mr Moreno-Ocampo has already dealt a decisive blow to our culture of impunity.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has done what nobody else has achieved since independence: He has scared the daylights out of our politicians.

Political figures

Brought up in an environment where political figures are treated like demi-gods, the Kenyan politician was a uniquely arrogant creature.

He -- and occasionally she -- could loot the treasury at will, appoint cronies to key positions and secure re-election by means fair or foul.

But that was until the afternoon of October 15, 2008 when Justice Philip Waki and Kofi Annan introduced a twist few politicians had foreseen.

Their declaration that failure to prosecute the masterminds of the violence would result in ICC action may yet come to be seen as one of the most important developments in the effort to transform Kenya's political culture.

Since that day, the key suspects have barely enjoyed a good night's rest.

They have been huddled in countless sessions with their lawyers.

They have attempted every tactic of sabotage in the book, including endless attempts at spinning the story in the press and erecting barriers in the official bureaucracy against the ICC prosecutor.

They have been humiliated by references to them in the American and British press, which routinely point to senior politicians whose names are "widely believed" to be in the dreaded envelope.

They have lost face because you and I know full well who the key suspects are.

The value of this psychological torment of the political elite cannot be underestimated.

It has sent a message to them that they are mere mortals who can be humbled by the justice system.

Perhaps no example illustrates more neatly the need to tackle the pomposity of the Kenyan politician than the story in Njenga Karume's autobiography about former Attorney-General Charles Njonjo's treasured silver beer mug.

Mr Karume narrates that he hosted a harambee where the chief guest was Mr Njonjo. When the festivities ended, Mr Karume treated his guests to a couple of beers.

He was surprised to see Mr Njonjo order his driver to bring his special mug which was the only one he could use to take his beer.

But the next day, a frantic District Officer came to see Mr Karume. He was terrified because Mr Njonjo's mug had gone missing.

When it was finally traced by the local chief to the innocent woman who was doing the catering, there was relief all round.

The Big Man

The chief phoned the DO to report the recovery. The DO phoned the DC who in turn phoned the PC. Arrangements were then made to deliver the mug to the Big Man.Despite the opening up of the political space, Kenyan politicians have not changed much. Theirs has remained a pampered existence as they routinely take advantage of the relative weakness of institutional checks and balances to do as they wish; secure in the knowledge they cannot be held to account.

That was until Mr Moreno-Ocampo came to town. We cannot wait until we see them in chains heading off to The Hague, possibly never to return.But by locking them up in the invisible chains of worry and anxiety that have been their lot over the last two years, Mr Moreno-Ocampo has already done Kenya a power of good.