NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 22 – Victims of the 2008 post-election violence will only be granted reparation in the event suspects facing possible accusations before the International Criminal Court are convicted.
A statement posted on ICC website says the common legal representative for victims, Morris Anyah held consultations with the victims authorised to participate in the proceedings in the case against the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former Police Commissioner Mohammed Hussein Ali and informed them that the process could take years to complete.
The statement further stated that Anyah explained to the victims the compensation regime available through the ICC and also highlighted relevant limitations.
The statement said that the victims had also voiced concerns about their lack of visibility as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), given that most of them had returned to their “ancestral homes”, and therefore had not been considered or given compensation packages by the Kenyan Government.
Many other people displaced as a result of the violence that hit the country after the disputed 2007 general elections are still not compensated and live in squalid conditions in IDP camps.
The victims of the violence also asked the International Criminal Court to keep secret their identities. The victims said that tension is still high in the areas affected by the violence.
The consultations which were aided by the Victims Participation and Reparations Section VPRS of the ICC Registry and organised in conjunction with civil society organisations in Kenya also sought to explain why Anyah recently replaced a number of former legal representatives of the victims, the reasons for this change and the process by which he was appointed the common legal representative.
At present, 233 victims have been authorised by Pre-Trial Chamber II to participate in the proceedings in the case against Kenyatta, Muthaura and Ali that enters the second day of the confirmation of charges hearings on Thursday.
ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo on Wednesday indicated that he would request the court to allow fresh charges linking Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura and Hussein Ali to post election violence crimes in Kibera and Kisumu.
Speaking before the confirmation of charges hearings for the three suspects on Ocampo said he had gathered additional and stronger evidence showing that some of those appearing as law enforcers in Kibera were Mungiki wearing police uniforms.
“For me they are important incidents and now we have more evidence about Kisumu and Kibera,” he asserted.
He said it was unfortunate that the Pre- Trial Chamber threw out the charges in Kisumu and Kibera against his intentions.
“In Kibera and Kisumu, sadly the judges refused to let us go, but today we have more evidence but we can request in future. I remember a lady in Kibera waiting for justice, so we should do justice for her,” he said.
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