20110404
reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A local tribunal would not be a credible mechanism to try Kenyan post-election violence suspects because the wealthy political elite would manipulate the court, Kenya's "Iron Lady" Martha Karua said on Monday.



Six top suspects are due at the International Criminal Court (ICC) later this week, a move that has intensified infighting in the fractured coalition government as many members, including President Mwai Kibaki, want local trials.

Karua, known as the Iron Lady for tackling all comers in a male-dominated political landscape, was the only lawmaker who stood against a tide of members of parliament who voted to pull Kenya out of the ICC. She said the summonses were a signal to leaders that they cannot hide from taking responsibility for their actions.

"I'm sure the tribunal they have in mind is not a credible mechanism," Karua, a presidential aspirant at next year's election and one of a handful of Kenyan ministers who have quit their posts on principle, told Reuters in an interview.

"They would rather that the process was within their control, that you determine who is your judge, who is your prosecutor ... so, when you hear local tribunal, they do not mean a credible local tribunal," she said.

The deadly fighting broke out after main challenger Prime Minister Raila Odinga accused incumbent President Kibaki of robbing him of victory in late December 2007 elections.