Hague Justice Portal
August 31, 2011
The International Criminal Court has dismissed an appeal by the Kenyan Government to throw out the cases against six high-ranking national officials for possible crimes against humanity.
The challenge was brought by Kenya in April, following the issuing of summons to appear for the accused, who have been dubbed the “Ocampo Six”. The Kenyan government requested that the court halt proceedings, as it was commencing its own investigation amid the introduction of constitutional and judicial reforms. The challenge was dismissed on the basis that the application did not provide concrete evidence of ongoing proceedings before national judges, and Kenya appealed.
Yesterday Presiding Judge Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko stated that “no legal, factual or procedural error could be discerned in the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision of 30 May”. He noted that for the case to be deemed inadmissible, it must be demonstrated that Kenya was undertaking its own investigation, which deals with the same individuals and the same alleged crimes as the proceedings at the ICC. The Pre-Trial Chamber determined that the Government of Kenya had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that it was investigating the six suspects for the alleged crimes.
This rejection of its appeal paves the way for the case to continue, beginning with the confirmation of charges hearings against three of the accused – former Higher Education Minister William Ruto, Kass FM executive Joshua Arap Sang and former Minister for Industrialisation Henry Kosgey – tomorrow.
The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of the other accused – Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura and former Police Chief Hussein Ali – takes place on 12 September. The six men are accused of crimes against humanity stemming from the 30 days of post-election violence that rocked Kenya in December 2007. They appeared voluntarily before the court in April following summonses to appear issued by the judges.
