A few Kenyans have had cases in the International Criminal Court due to their suspected involvement in crimes against humanity during the country’s post election violence between December 2007 and January 2008.Due to what seems to be lack of adequate evidence, the court has found it fit to terminate all the cases as per the final verdict of the court given on fifth day of April 2016. This would point it being that innocent guys (actually the wrong people) were taken to the courts on false allegations. How I hope that this be right.
Commenting on the ICC cases is a challenge. Whereas we would like to have them terminated so that Kenya’s influence within the international system is regained, it is true that some of the actors who have so far been let loose may not be fully innocent; and they cannot apologize because that will be self incriminating.Complaints over intimidation and bribery of witnesses have been raised by the court itself. This would point to us having a very weak court that cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of a handful witnesses.
How do those incriminated feel or even react every time they are asked; and they are all spiritual people by the way, are you sure you are completely innocent with regard to the 2007/8 deaths in Kenya sir? Does it then become that the same way we have become fearless and hard-faced in looting public coffers is the same way in which we will participate in the destruction in every sense possible of those we see not to be like us?
Some factions are complaining that the two cases should have gone on if they were to get justice. The question then becomes, how will those who fell victims in Naivasha, Nakuru and Nairobi get justice? And here, I am referring to the victims who were not necessarily from the GEMA communities. Do some people within the republic deserve justice more than others?
How do we deal with issues of ethnic based conflicts from now on?
Whereas I may be happy for the country in terms of the diplomatic milestones the cases have helped us achieve, I am not happy with the way the post conflict phase has been handled by us all. The government has failed and the people share the blame.
Nobody has the blame or the responsibility for what happened not because all parties dialogued and agreed to forgive and forget. Not that reconciliation worked so well we all look at and smile with each other. No. Not with the hate speeches I see on social media and which I hoe will go down with time.
The rapists, those who broke into homes, those who speared others, those who torched houses, those who evicted others from “their” territories. All of them are still free and other than their feeling of self guilt if they have any, will never be told by a justice system that what they did was wrong. Won’t they be tempted to perfect the game?
Tell me, what do we have to tell those who spent several nights sleeping in the forests because their homes were not safe? What do we tell those who witnessed the killing of their kin? What do we tell those whose property were taken over by “indigens”?
Is working on the root causes of conflicts for the sake of future peace better than delivering justice to those who suffered the outcome of past conflicts? Is the country going to be more united because no one was brought to book? because we all silently decided to forgive and forget?
How do we secure the peaceful future of the nation that Kenya so desperately needs?
ODONGO JANES 