The ICC issue in Kenya continue generate a lot of debate.Its at best a labyrinth of political intrigues and at worst a political witch hunt.Mr.Ocampo hypothesis or narrative lacks objectivity and amount to a fairy story.Reading the lopsided editorial pieces in our dailies one is left wondering if our learned men and women of the fourth estate forgot what objectivity in news reportage means.Nobody should construe that those who of us who want peace before justice do not empathize with the victims of the post election violence.On the contrary it has always been my believe and advocacy that the victims of post election violence should be resettled and compensated by the government.
Examining closely,the issue of the ICC has divided our country more.Let nobody be misguided to believe that most Kenyans want the litigants or rather the suspects be tried at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. The issue here is that those for the ICC process are more organized than those against the process.Looking at how Mr.Ocampo is handling the whole process,any sober mind will tell when one is pursuing justice and when one is playing politics.Some of the reason that points to the fact that the ICC prosecutor goofed and he is not about justice is the fact that he came with a list of 3 suspects from either political divide. This leaves many questions unanswered and he should know that justice is not about political affiliations.The list should have been exhaustive and should have not looked at political inclinations even if all the suspects were from one political party. Ocampo also decided to play politics by naming the suspects, this is prejudicial and any competent lawyer will tell you that it is not his business to reveal names before the judges decide if the litigants have a case to answer.Already Mr.Ocampo has been heavily criticized and censured by the judges because of this and this amount to an indictment of Mr.Ocampo and his investigation as a whole.
The argument that there can be no peace without justice is an academic theory that holds no water.What is Justice?Justice is a function of economic empowerment.Look keenly at the Kenya justice system and anywhere in the world for that matter.To drive this point home,there is peace in Saudi Arabia but there is no justice.Ireland in north Europe decided that they needed peace more than justice.They therefore gave reconciliation a chance and the warring factions were allowed to share their grievances and forgive each other.They cried together and the country now enjoy relative peace. South Africa on the other hand chose peace first.They forgave each other, the perpetrators of apartheid and victims shared the same platform and empathized with each other and are at peace since then.
Kenya should therefore focus more of attaining peace before justice.The fact that the ICC process offer no hope for justice support this idea.Justice can only be achieved when all are at peace and living in harmony.You cannot achieve peace when some feel they are being targeted and the intent of the sought justice is at best shrouded with political shenanigans.Again the prosecutor knocked himself of the pedestal in his conduct.Further he seem not to have a good history to conduct any impartial investigation.His love for the media attention and his public utterances leave everyone dismayed. His work is cosmetic and he did not do his work well.If he indeed succeed in indicting the suspects either all of them or some he will be simply planting seeds of discord in Kenya and peace will remain a mirage.However the likely chance of him succeeding are slim if the judges remain objective and faithful to their oath of office. Kenya should therefore seek peace first and then justice through a credible justice system.
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