Set Charles Taylor free?
- Posted on Monday 30 April 2012 - 08:30Article by James N. Kariuki and E. GithinjiThe most historic news of this century is easily the verdict against Liberia's Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague. Taylor has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sierra Leone.
Sentencing is still pending but we know for sure that Taylor will be called upon to serve time. In that event, the question that faces friends of Africa is whether serving prison time is the appropriate option for a former state president.
This question is relevant especially because in Africa, the ‘intentions’ of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have been questioned. Detractors lament that the court targets Africans leaders disproportionately. And sure enough, its pending cases include the Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir, four prominent Kenyan personalities who have been indicted for the 2007-2008 post-election violence, and the son of late Muammar Gaddafi. Does the ICC discriminate or are Africans bigger sinners?
It is fitting that Charles Taylor has endured a grueling trial. First, Taylor committed harrowing crimes in Liberia and Sierra Leone. No worldly punishment can ever come close to paying back the price for the anguish that this one man has perpetrated upon the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Even if he accepted guilt, which he doesn’t, there is nothing he can do to compensate the troubled region.
Second, Taylor believes in retribution. When he deposed Samuel Doe in 1990, he relished making a worldwide spectacle of his vanquished victim. Indeed he made an international television show of Doe’s vile torture, humiliation and, ultimately, execution. We do not suggest that Taylor should be killed and paraded through town nude or have his ears cut off on videotape. But he should remember that he did that to someone else.
Finally and most compellingly, it is imperative that Africa entrenches the principle that nobody is above the law; not even the head of state. This point is critical in a continent where, despite rampant human rights violations, no sitting or former head of state has ever been called upon to be account for his human rights violations against his own people. That was before Charles Taylor.
In sum, if there was probable cause that Taylor broke the law; it was critical that he was held accountable. The old feudal idea that ‘The King can do no wrong,’ is alive and well in Africa. Indeed, the impulse among many African heads of state is to apply it to themselves. Like Louis XIV of France, they proclaim, ‘I am the state.’ That kind of impunity is now a thing of the past.
While making room for the legal route, it is equally compelling that we balance between Taylor’s culpability and the interest of peace in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In this context, a trial of a sitting or deposed head of state can be tricky.
Post-apartheid SA learned this lesson the hard way. In the late 1990s, the bid to establish Jacob Zuma’s guilt or innocence in the court of law strained the fabric of the SA society to the limit. And yet, Zuma was not head of state then; he was merely head of state-in-the-making.
Putting a national leader on trial risks endangering national cohesion. Could a Taylor trial have triggered further regional instability in Liberia and Sierra Leone where he still commanded considerable support? The UN seemed to think so; hence the decision to transfer the legal proceedings against the Liberian leader to the Netherlands at substantial costs. Stability of the region was a relevant consideration.
On the other hand, there is demonstration-effect to take into account. When he accepted the offer of safe exile in Nigerian in 2003, Taylor expected exemption from prosecution in return, a pid pro quo. Was he a victim of a broken promise when Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo handed him over to Liberia three years later?
If there was such a betrayal of trust by Nigeria, what kind of example did Taylor’s experience set for other African political wrongdoers? Would Robert Mugabe, for example, subsequently consider an offer to loosen his grip on Zimbabweans in exchange for exemption from prosecution and an asylum in, say, Namibia or SA? In all likelihood, he would say no, thanks.
A case can thus be made that by breaking the promise of safe haven to Taylor, Nigeria has unwittingly prolonged human suffering in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. Why would any other African tyrant surrender his positions of power if he is likely to be hunted down later when he no longer has trappings of power?
By all accounts, Taylor did commit awesome acts of savagery in and around Liberia. But, wasn’t banishing him out of Liberia’s political life (with his own consent) punishment enough? Was putting him on an agonizing trial tantamount to going to excesses?
Fortunately, Liberia and Sierra Leone did not explode in fury over the trial of Charles Taylor? But what about sentencing him to a lengthy jail term? Can we cross a line of sound reasoning by engaging such in overkill? Could a long sense for Taylor trigger violent riots and hurt the chances of national reconciliation in Liberia and Sierra Leone?
Prompting the pendulum of revenge in Sierra Leone and Liberia is a real danger. The grudge cycle of ‘you hurt our man today, we shall hurt your man tomorrow,’ should not be entertained. There is wisdom to the thought of limiting ourselves to de-thronement without decapitation. This is not to praise the perpetrator of evil; it is to shield the already victimized from further savagery.
Africa longs for a peaceful Liberia and its neighbors. If so, we should entertain the option of shaming Charles Taylor by smothering him with ubuntu, what he denied his antagonists. Set Taylor free but bar him from ever setting foot on any part of West Africa. After all, the ultimate measure of a healthy black family is how it treats its most difficult member.
Reactions
- Posted on Monday 30 April 2012 14:59Fine piece but just little correction Sir!
For instance, the paragraph which reads:
"Indeed he made an international television show of Doe’s vile torture, humiliation and, ultimately, execution. We do not suggest that Taylor should be killed and paraded through town nude or have his ears cut off on videotape. But he should remember that he did that to someone else.''
I think the writer was referring to Prince Johnson and NOT Taylor. The torture and butcher of Doe was well publicised then. See video here. Anyway, thanks and keep it up!
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