ICC to investigate Kenya violence

  1. Posted on Wednesday 31 March 2010 - 15:02
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    Alex Kiarie, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    The ICC has approved Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's application to investigate the suspects implicated in the post election violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed December 2007general elections. He said the ICC will do its part but the Kenyans will be in the lead, adding that there would be "no impunity for those most responsible".
    Lameck Nyagudi riots and protests in the streets of kenya
    "The ICC will work for and with the Kenyans," Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement.

    Last November, the ICC Chief Prosecutor asked judges to approve an investigation into the 2007-08 violence, but the decision was differed after the court broke for the Christmas holidays.

    He later said in March that Kenyan political leaders organised and financed the attacks against civilians. He also added that the killings and destruction were driven by some politicians greed to retain power, while others were propelled by the greed to gain power.

    Part of O'Campo's filing before the court included a confidential list of 20 names of those "who appear to bear the gravest responsibility" for the crimes.

    Moreno-Ocampo has in the past cited figures from Kenyan authorities that 1,220 people were killed, with hundreds of documented rapes and more than 350,000 forcibly displaced in ethnic clashes after the disputed presidential election in December 2007.

    However, some human rights groups have disputed this figure, arguing that the number of people who lost their lives was much higher, since some victims were buried in mass graves located in unidentified places, while others were burnt beyond recognition.

    The International Criminal Court, established in 2002, is the world's first permanent court set up to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and other major human rights violations.

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