In a recent decision by the International criminal court to
put the trial dates in April after the next general elections. There seems to
be a state of euphoria among the two presidential aspirants because the move comes as a relief to them. Today I want
to generally look at the implication of the decision of the court to the
suspects.
In the criminal justice system there is no bad thing like
giving the prosecution more time to garner more evidence against you and also
to be well prepared. Unlike the state prosecutors, the ICC prosecutors have a
point to prove to the world of their worth in office, more so they have an impending duty to those
affected by war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and any other crimes
as listed in the Rome statute. It's no shocker that the ICC chief prosecutor
did not object to the request of the defence to postpone the trials until after
the general elections. The court had no grounds to deny the parties their
request because it factors in the
applications of both the prosecution and defence before issuing a ruling.
One former Ambassador Francis Kirimi Muthaura may have been wiser than we take him to be when he was pushing for the quick beginning of the trial because his lawyers are working for their pay, i wonder what the other Ivy league Lawyers appointed by the other suspects are doing. A weak prosecutable case is the bread and butter of criminal lawyers but also you don't want to face a well prepared state counsel or international prosecutor who has spotted a promotion gap.
It has been hinted that the prosecution intent to broaden the charges of some of the suspects. Am left in perplexity of which damn lawyer wouldn't expect this when it was evident that the prosecution had a shaky case and could not have dispensed with the burden of proof. But now it is going to be even tougher, the defence has also hinted that it will reject the amendment of charges that are intended to net the post election violence suspects, however the Thomas Lubanga case, pitting the Congolese warlord has set a precedent in the ICC where the court allowed the prosecution to amend the charges. Any good student of public international law worth their name would tell you that precedents set by International Criminal Court are binding upon the other cases, this is because they have in essence attained the force of law.So which God forsaken Attorney is advising their client to object a rule that has gained acceptance in the international community moreso in the Hague based court, yeah its only a forsaken one.
The ICC aside, assuming we allow them to contest for presidency, which is highly unlikely but possible also, how will they juggle their campaign and the trial? From experience Kenyans are so fond of attention that you lose them the moment you look the other side, and its always for the highest bidder that takes the cock home to roost. We have come to learn a lot from the mistakes we have made in the past,we have paid greatly and with lives lost, so with all due respect honorable s we cannot fathom an absentee politician nor an absentee president for that matter. They seem to be working on a misguided assumption that upon acceding to power they will invoke the principle of sovereignty of states as hinted by the Attorney General, where a sitting head of state may not be prosecuted while in office, but one thing they should learn is that the trial started when they were not in power and even if that is not the case, the ICC is a very patient court it will wait for them till they finish their term. But by looking at the situation of Sudan's President they will discover that other countries will have an obligation to arrest them when they set foot in their countries in case a warrant of arrest is issued against them..
Another implication that we stand to face is the possibility of sanctions if we allow leaders whose integrity is questionable to contest for the top seat. if there is something more horrifying to states is international sanctions. We cannot afford to be sanctioned at this day and era when we can do the right thing and continue developing our economy that has been mauled by political tyranny. The countries from the 'west' seem to abhor tainted leadership and if we adamantly decide to allow suspicious characters in statehouse then we are in trouble for sure.From the onset the US has objected any form of amnesty for the suspects, so we can imagine if we decide to clear the for election their credibility notwithstanding, its a very dangerous ground fellow statesmen so our court should be on the forefront in ensuring that, justice is done.This country is bigger than a few individuals who may think they have angelic spirits.
It appears logically true to also look at the aspect of time, clearly time is not on their side. lets for instance allow them to vie in march, then as we all know or perhaps what most learned political analysts are projecting, the possibility of a re-run is inevitable, then what happens to our friends who are to stand trial in April because the electoral body will need a little more time to carry out mobilizations for the re-run, which can only be projected into April at minimum. Supposing you are to go for the run off will it be conducted in absentia of the participants. Then why waste all the resources just to prove a point and escalated arrogance, with total disregard of the peoples wish?
This Country is not going anywhere and therefore in the interest of the public they seek to serve, they should shelf their ambitions for now until they are free of any encumbrances. Its only in such a way that they can prove their leadership capabilities, Some have shelved their dreams in the past in the interest of progressive leadership they can do it again in the interest of justice and peace.As Fellow statesman i think they can believe they can do it, and they should also say and do(waseme na watende), it should not just be imprinted in their political logo and symbols it should represent what they think and feel beneath, fellow statesmen alutah continua.......
It has been hinted that the prosecution intent to broaden the charges of some of the suspects. Am left in perplexity of which damn lawyer wouldn't expect this when it was evident that the prosecution had a shaky case and could not have dispensed with the burden of proof. But now it is going to be even tougher, the defence has also hinted that it will reject the amendment of charges that are intended to net the post election violence suspects, however the Thomas Lubanga case, pitting the Congolese warlord has set a precedent in the ICC where the court allowed the prosecution to amend the charges. Any good student of public international law worth their name would tell you that precedents set by International Criminal Court are binding upon the other cases, this is because they have in essence attained the force of law.So which God forsaken Attorney is advising their client to object a rule that has gained acceptance in the international community moreso in the Hague based court, yeah its only a forsaken one.The ICC aside, assuming we allow them to contest for presidency, which is highly unlikely but possible also, how will they juggle their campaign and the trial? From experience Kenyans are so fond of attention that you lose them the moment you look the other side, and its always for the highest bidder that takes the cock home to roost. We have come to learn a lot from the mistakes we have made in the past,we have paid greatly and with lives lost, so with all due respect honorable s we cannot fathom an absentee politician nor an absentee president for that matter. They seem to be working on a misguided assumption that upon acceding to power they will invoke the principle of sovereignty of states as hinted by the Attorney General, where a sitting head of state may not be prosecuted while in office, but one thing they should learn is that the trial started when they were not in power and even if that is not the case, the ICC is a very patient court it will wait for them till they finish their term. But by looking at the situation of Sudan's President they will discover that other countries will have an obligation to arrest them when they set foot in their countries in case a warrant of arrest is issued against them..
Another implication that we stand to face is the possibility of sanctions if we allow leaders whose integrity is questionable to contest for the top seat. if there is something more horrifying to states is international sanctions. We cannot afford to be sanctioned at this day and era when we can do the right thing and continue developing our economy that has been mauled by political tyranny. The countries from the 'west' seem to abhor tainted leadership and if we adamantly decide to allow suspicious characters in statehouse then we are in trouble for sure.From the onset the US has objected any form of amnesty for the suspects, so we can imagine if we decide to clear the for election their credibility notwithstanding, its a very dangerous ground fellow statesmen so our court should be on the forefront in ensuring that, justice is done.This country is bigger than a few individuals who may think they have angelic spirits.
It appears logically true to also look at the aspect of time, clearly time is not on their side. lets for instance allow them to vie in march, then as we all know or perhaps what most learned political analysts are projecting, the possibility of a re-run is inevitable, then what happens to our friends who are to stand trial in April because the electoral body will need a little more time to carry out mobilizations for the re-run, which can only be projected into April at minimum. Supposing you are to go for the run off will it be conducted in absentia of the participants. Then why waste all the resources just to prove a point and escalated arrogance, with total disregard of the peoples wish?
This Country is not going anywhere and therefore in the interest of the public they seek to serve, they should shelf their ambitions for now until they are free of any encumbrances. Its only in such a way that they can prove their leadership capabilities, Some have shelved their dreams in the past in the interest of progressive leadership they can do it again in the interest of justice and peace.As Fellow statesman i think they can believe they can do it, and they should also say and do(waseme na watende), it should not just be imprinted in their political logo and symbols it should represent what they think and feel beneath, fellow statesmen alutah continua.......
that a good exposition.........me likeyyyyy
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