NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – The Orange Democratic Movement is not united in its objection to a deferral bid of the Kenya ICC case before the United Nations Security Council.
A section of ODM legislators allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto now want party chairman Henry Kosgey and his deputy Adan Duale to write a letter countering an earlier one sent by Secretary General Anyang\’ Nyong\’o, that said the party was opposed to the deferral.
The legislators argue that the letter by Prof Nyong\’o does not reflect the entire party\’s position since no meeting was held to endorse the stand as required.
Belgut MP Charles Keter argued that the Secretary General\’s letter was aimed at settling political scores ahead of next year\’s elections.
"We want the chairman of ODM to write in support of the government. Let the two letters meet there because we know very well that the letter which will be recognized by the council is the government\’s and it was done earlier on," he said.
The lawmakers also demanded for the minutes of the ODM meeting where members allegedly decided to challenge the government\’s move.
They want to see a list of all the party members who attended the meeting adding that the party\’s chairman was kept in the dark when the letter was written.
Konoin MP Julius Kones further asked the UN Security Council not to get involved in local party politics but to instead focus on matters of global peace. He also accused Prime Minister Raila Odinga of monopolising the party and using it to settle personal interests.
"If ODM wrote a letter, then it has to be a party position. Henry Kosgey and William Ruto are still party members who still hold their positions. If the party was to send a letter to the council then the council should know that the party has different factions," he charged.
The MPs further claimed that the Premier used his visit to Iran, last week, to devise a scheme that would see the ICC process in the country hastened. They alleged that the PM\’s purpose of his visit was to meet the Second President of the ICC and the Executive Director of Commonwealth on Human Rights.
Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny added that the PM should reveal the exact reasons for his trip arguing that it was not a government assignment.
"They had said that the trip was an official one but we have reliably established that it was personal. He went there to set the Ocampo Six up," he said.
Mr Keter also accused the PM of painting a negative image of the country, during the said visit, so as to reduce his political competition.
"Raila told the two officials that if the summonses were not issued forthwith, Kenya would go up in flames. As a result of the meeting, the summonses were hurriedly issued and that explains why the ruling of the dissenting judge has not been written until now," said Mr Keter.
He further called on the PM to clarify what he meant by allegedly saying that the country would witness insecurity if the ICC did not move in.
The MPs also reiterated their past position on the PM\’s role in the post election violence saying he had a case to answer.
Mr Kutuny said that the ODM played a crucial role in perpetrating the violence and that it should also bear responsibility.
"The cases against Mr Ruto and Mr Kosgey will lack basis if the PM is not involved. The Medical Services Minister Anyang Nyong\’o should also be implicated because he took all the party\’s minutes. If the Lands Minister is not prosecuted, their cases will not hold any water," he said.
But the PM sent a note to newsroom terming the allegations as "shallow and hollow."
"Opponents of the Prime Minister have never been interested in an honest and truthful handling of the ICC issue. The latest outburst is just part of the pattern of lies that have characterized this debate," the PM\’s communications director Dennis Onyango said.
He said the same lawmakers voted against a local tribunal and wanted the Kenya case sent to the ICC.
"The PM sees all these claims as part of the culture of lies and dishonesty that have gripped our politics and public life in recent years and which have put the country where it is today. He sees them as a desperate effort to defend impunity and defeat justice. "
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