Ocampo should just pounce, then claw

By Oketch Kendo

The man whose name scares lords of impunity is coming. But it is not clear whether the ‘international hangman’ needs to make the 7,000-mile journey, in person, to ‘negotiate’ justice.

Unless the chief prosecutor is coming with handcuffs and whips to supervise restoration of national discipline, the visitation could be another decoy to push national institutions to slay impunity. A visit for further ‘negotiations’, and one whose agenda is dependent on Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo would be another chance squandered.

The slayer of the dragon of impunity should have been here, if he had to, months ago. The evidence needed to invite such international action is proof local institutions have failed to deliver justice, and heads of those institutions are compromised.

The minister who claims he would be preparing an itinerary for Luis Moreno-Ocampo was among politicians who pushed then Electoral Commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu to declare discredited presidential election results so they could begin ‘negotiating a coalition’.

Now, Mutula is Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s chaperon, preparing the agenda on how those who reacted to political interference with an independent institution would be prosecuted.

Does Mutula have the moral wherewithal to play the Angel of Justice on this? The man who is high on promises is terrifyingly low on deliverables.

But Mutula is not the only one caught in this web of impunity. Chief Justice Evan Gicheru, Attorney General Wako, and security agencies are suffering orchestrated impotence.

Those who can remember the horrendous events of 20 months ago know the Gicherus, Wakos and Mutulas of the Kibaki era of errors are embedded. Because of conflict of interest, Kenya needs an Ocampo to slay the pet dragon of the Executive.

But even Moreno-Ocampo may not be immune to temptations that undermine justice. Like using tactics to delay and ultimately, deny justice to victims of impunity.

Saber rattling

Consider the 1,200 murdered victims of political deceit, and the 600,000 who were dispossessed so that a voracious clique of ‘steakholders’ could cling to power. The victims are crying for justice and they expect it to come from The Hague.

But did Ocampo have to declare he intends to make Kenya an example of how to fight impunity? Why can’t he, with international support and evidence that justice has never been made in Kenya, just pounce without saber rattling?

Weren’t we told a tiger does not proclaim its trigritude – it pounces with devilish agility? Moreno-Ocampo better be clawing to show that even lords of impunity, fortified by the Executive, could have their day in court.

Dangling sovereignty won’t turn the tide against international action. Moreover, sovereignty is not a ticket to blunder and plunder. It is a call to responsible leadership to justify opportunistic claims to independence.

See how Somalia has managed its sovereignty? First it was President Siad Barre who plundered Somalia. After he was deposed in 1991, warlords came to clear what remained of a once thriving, proud country. For about 20 years, Somalia has been left in a vicious cycle of violence.

You hear some ask why does Ocampo want to make an example of Kenya, which is under some form of government, even if moribund, when militias are strangling Somalia?

Kenya is not Somalia. Kenya chose democracy and is a signatory to international accords defining how right thinking countries should be governed. There should be no more asking why Kenya, when Egypt and Saudi Arabia are also flouting human rights. Kenya must be judged by its promises and claims to good manners. Since Kenya has failed the test of civility, a mean man of Moreno-Ocampo’s hue is godsend to reclaim national discipline.

He looks mean, so mean the upper truth of his torso gives him the ring of an angry tiger, and probably also hungry for justice to the voiceless. The grey truth of his head and beard make him look like a tiger that needs no permission to pounce, provided there is reason.

The prosecutor, probably too short and out of proportion with the fear his name evokes among local kingpins of impunity, should act according to the letter and spirit of the International Criminal Court. He should not be seeking a date to consort with witnesses and potential suspects or come close to them when they are most scared.

Political thuggery

What if the tempest tempts the Argentine with a developed beach plot at the coast for his retirement and tenure on the local Bench? The seductive tongue of the tempest can be lethal, with so much at stake, including some presidential ambitions.

Cynical, you may say, but a cynic as you well know, is a disillusioned idealist.

By now, Moreno-Ocampo should be prosecuting and even executing, unless he lacks the courage to handle his international duty. But it is worthwhile giving him the benefit of doubt now that he is set to show political thuggery, power-generated crimes and Executive mendacity do not pay.

Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic understood that there comes a time when sovereignty and State power cannot stop the resolve of the international community to act.

The writer is The Standard’s Managing Editor, Quality and Production.

kendo@standardmedia.co.ke

 

 

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