20101213
reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya will set up a local court to try suspects involved in the violence that followed its 2007 presidential election, the president's office said on Monday.

This local legal process would be established whatever action is taken by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, whose chief prosecutor is this week poised to identify six politicians he believes orchestrated the post-election mayhem.

The violence in early 2008 which followed the disputed election claimed the lives of 1,220 people and displaced more than 350,000.

"Irrespective of what transpires at the ICC on Wednesday 15th December, 2010 and in view of the fact that ICC is only a court of last resort, the Government will establish a local judicial mechanism in accordance with the Rome Statute within the framework of the new Constitution," the presidency said in a statement after a special cabinet meeting.

The government has on various occasions stated that the cases arising out of the post-election violence should be resolved through an independent and credible local judicial process, the statement added.

Its attempts to pass laws in parliament for the formation of a local court were defeated by lawmakers, prompting the ICC to take up the cases.

One prominent politician has begun legal moves to try to prevent the ICC from naming him and other suspects behind the violence.

William Ruto, who has stepped aside from his post as a minister to face corruption charges, has denied involvement in instigating the violence.