Jubilee in the new ICC drive of lies and selective amnesia - by Raila Odinga

On December 31, 2007, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported hundreds of people killed by the Police in Kenya.

The same day, The New York Times reported hundreds of people being killed by the police as they protested the announced results of the elections.

The Daily Nation on the same day had a headline reading 'Kenya: Death and Chaos after Kibaki Wins'. Al Jazeera, in the same way on the same day, reported 'Election Riot Worsens in Kenya'. The previous day, The International Herald Tribune published an article by Jeffrey Gettleman saying: "Tribal Violence breaks out in Kenya over disputed election results".

On January 19, 2008, the Standard reported that police had accepted one of its officers blatantly shooting a youth in Kisumu, terming it "regrettable".

In Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret police killing of protesters was a daily occurrence between December 28, 2007 up to end of February 2008. The BBC, on March 5, 2008, reported that "State 'sanctioned' the Kenyan Clashes."

It was very clear to us in ODM that without the rigging of the elections there would not have been violence in Kenya. The elections were peaceful until the security forces, for the first time in Kenya's history, surrounded the Kenyatta International Conference Centre where the tallying was going on to aid and abet the rigging of the elections.

Protests followed which the same security forces repressed through the mass killing of people: an open genocidal reaction by the State.

The ICC, in its investigation of one of the suspects, found that the policy for attacks on ODM supporters was articulated at a meeting in Nairobi State House on or about December 30, 2007. The ICC report names the person who came up with this policy and the money to finance its implementation.

According to Waki report, deaths by tribe across Kenya were as follows:

Kalenjins: 158

Luhyas: 163

Luos: 278

Kisii: 57

Turkana: 6

Maasai: 7

Teso: 5

Taita: 2

Kikuyus: 268

Uknown : 165.

It is in this context of death and mayhem that ODM wrote to the International Community, including the Security Council, to come to our help in a situation where the struggle for our democratic rights had been turned into a war by the State against its own people. The Kenyan State had ceased being a neutral positive force. It was behind the killings of innocent citizens, a huge number of whom were from Deputy President William Ruto’s backyard of Eldoret.

The International Community, including the AU, reacted positively. The Panel of Eminent Persons, emissaries of Security Council members and finally Dr Kofi Annan came to our rescue. It was in this context that a formula was finally found where negotiation teams from ODM and PNU sat for days and nights at the Serena Hotel working with Kofi Annan to find a peaceful solution to the Kenyan crisis.

The negotiators on the ODM team were Sally Kosgey, Musalia Mudavadi, James Orengo and William Ruto. It was because of these four ODM stalwarts that we managed to get our voice heard in the framing of the National Accord.

Kenyans will remember that what was to be done to restore peace, stability, justice, good governance and democracy after the post-election violence was worked out at Serena Hotel. It was agreed that two Commissions be set up: one, led by Justice Johann Kriegler to look into the political aspects of the bungled elections; the other by Justice Philip Waki to look into the criminal aspects of the post-election violence. Both commissions carried out their work in broad daylight, holding public hearings and scrutinising reports submitted to them by all and sundry. Their reports were finally published, leading to the now famous envelop in which Justice Waki identified those allegedly most responsible for the post-election violence.

I, Raila Odinga, firmly supported the setting up of a local tribunal to deal with the PEV cases. But strong opposition to this idea in Parliament led to the failure of setting up of a local tribunal. Eventually Kofi Annan handed over the famous envelop to the ICC. This was the origin of the ICC cases.

In early 2011, after the cases had started, there was a move by the Kenyan government to defer the cases to a future date. We in ODM opposed this deferral. We instead still preferred the cases to be referred to a local tribunal set up in Kenya. Take for example the many families who lost loved ones as a result of police brutality: how was it going to be possible for the Hague process to listen to their grievance and ensure that justice is done?

We therefore find it rather awkward and hypocritical for some people to allege that the ODM leadership "fixed" our comrade William Ruto, who was at the centre of our negotiations.

Ruto was, at that time, a prime target of those who stole the elections. Facts as narrated above make claims by Jubilee a most preposterous proposal and one of the biggest lies ever peddled in our country.

Kenyans need to know other equally critical facts that Mr Kuria and the Jubilee brigade are not talking about in the regard to the case against Ruto.

Moses Kuria was an employee and a political assistant to Uhuru Kenyatta when he arranged the procuring of witnesses to fix Ruto. Kuria worked for Uhuru from 2008. He worked at the UK Centre at Baden Powell House as Uhuru’s political assistant up to 2014. This is the period when, by Kuria’s own admission, witnesses were being procured against Ruto. The work Kuria did during the course of his employment must be presumed to have been done for and on behalf of his principal, Uhuru.

Uhuru and the Jubilee team cannot claim to be ignorant of what was being done by his own employee Kuria. It is safe to assume that these things were done under his direction. If not, Uhuru must tell the country.

The time has come for Uhuru to come out and tell Kenyans what his role was in the fixing of his deputy Ruto. These other machinations disguised as prayers and attempts to drag other people’s names into the witness procuring scheme that was known only to Kuria are only meant to lull Ruto’s supporters and create a false sense of security for them. Uhuru owes Kenyans and his deputy the truth.

Hon Raila Odinga is the the leader of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy and the former Kenyan prime minister.

ALSO READ:
How they fixed Ruto to the ICC - VIDEO

Via - The Star Kenya