We are just a few days from the D-Day of
September 10 when William Ruto’s case at the ICC for crimes against
humanity is expected to start.
And
with this, a new season of madness beckons, where truth is cast aside,
facts are deemed irrelevant, and an avalanche of lies and propaganda are
unleashed.
This was expected, for few issues have been as emotive in recent years as the ICC; and few issues more twisted and manipulated.
Prior
to the elections, the overwhelming spin against the ICC was that it was
a foreign court, and was being used to deny some leaders an opportunity
to rule Kenya.
This, no doubt, had
great traction, no matter the fact that it was the Government and
Parliament that essentially invited the ICC to intervene in Kenya, after
failing to institute a Special Tribunal as agreed with the adoption of
the Waki Commission Report. And no matter the fact that under our
constitution, the ICC is as much a part of our judicial system as the
Supreme Court.
And no matter the fact that Mr Ruto was in support of the ICC before his indictment.
INVITE THE ICC
The spin went on to claim that because all the cases before it are from Africa,
then it must be anti-African, again no matter the fact that for Kenya,
Uganda, DR Congo, Central African Republic and Cote d’Ivoire, it was the
countries themselves that invited the ICC.
This
spin is silly. Imagine that your village or estate had been engulfed in
a crime spree with residents raped, killed and tortured. But this crime
wave also hit other estates and villages across the country. Do we then
say that we want no action in our estate or village until other
criminals are brought to book?
Then
it became the story of the indicted persons as victims, no matter that
they can afford the best lawyers money can buy (or is it taxpayers
paying for the lawyers and travel and etc?) with no regard for those
killed, raped, displaced and tortured. And again, this got traction and
suddenly anyone who supports the ICC and is against impunity was
declared a traitor! One wonders how standing up for principle and for
the weakest of the weak became akin to treason, especially when the
Government itself brought in the ICC!
Indeed,
one of the most significant dangers to our survival as a nation is the
fact that those in power, those with wealth, can do anything and get
away with it. They can steal, kill, rape, father kids without regard, be
corrupt, and get away with it. But when it comes to the point of
actually trying to do something about it, when tribal emotions are
brought into play and when some of Britain’s best propagandists are let
loose to spin, we seem to lose it.
INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
We
all agree that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and some of the
loudest shouting about this comes from the fervent supporters of the
indictees. Yet, these same supporters do not seem to believe that
innocent until proven guilty should apply to anyone else! For they lie
on the blogs, for instance, accusing all manner of people of criminal
actions such as witness coaching, even though there has never been any
investigation or official complaint about this, and despite the fact
that the indictees control the state.
Now
the supporters of the indictees in parliament are reportedly planning
to pass a motion to withdraw from the ICC. This will have an impact on
the cases, and while it may prove to be politically popular to some, it
will make things harder for the indictees.
Even
those countries that have been carefully recalibrating their foreign
policy towards Kenya—on the basis of their strategic interests rather
than morality--will have few options but to cut loose if non-cooperation
becomes official.
But I don’t get
it: If indeed the indictees are innocent, why have they been so busy
trying to avoid the ICC altogether? They have tried using the African
Union; they have gone to the UN Security Council; witnesses have been
recanting; and they have delayed the start dates of the trial time and
again.
We have clearly not seen the
last of the propaganda and spin and we should brace ourselves for more,
for a season of madness beckons.
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