CULTURE OF IMPUNITY MAKES RECURRENCE OF PEV A REALITY.

A section of legislators have been fast and furious in accusing Prime Minister Raila Odinga of incitement over remarks he recently made that the country may experience a worse round of electioneering related violence if the perpetrators of the 2007-2008 PEV are not prosecuted. These legislators have demonstrated a penchant for quoting the PM out of context in order to paint to the public and the International Community an unfavorable picture of him. It would be a great disservice to the nation if these extremes of flippancy were to go unchallenged.

In order to appreciate the circumstances under which the PM made these remarks, I wish to draw the attention of these legislators` to findings of a research titled “Reaping the whirlwinds? The Socio-Economic implications of the 2008 post Election Violence” carried out in August 2010 by The Kenya for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ). Therein are research findings that show that three quarters of Kenyans in the Rift Valley consider recurrence of ethnically motivated PEV as likely. It opines that about 40 percent of the respondents plan to relocate temporarily while fifteen percent plan to migrate permanently. All the respondents agree that bad politics and the Government`s inability to deliver justice to the victims of PEV is likely to fuel another round of ethnically motivated PEV. Studies undertaken by other bodies such as Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) Monitoring Project, leading researchers such Synovate and Infotrak as well as a host of other civil society organizations have made similar observations within the same period.

Of much significance is the fact that these findings dovetail with findings of the Independent Review Committee (IREC) and the Commission of Inquiry into PEV (CIPEV). IREC recommended institutional reforms while CIPEV recommended that in order to tackle the culture of impunity and to prevent future recurrence of PEV there must be investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators of the 2007 PEV.

However three years down the line, these reports seem to have found their way into the shredder. Implementation of these reports has been so much politicized. Currently there are many personal, political and even ethnic considerations surrounding the debate on the establishment of a credible local judicial mechanism to prosecute the suspects bearing the greatest responsibility over the 2007 PEV.

The country is increasingly being treated to ethnic political dynamics that are clearly aimed at subverting justice. Already some legislators are unreasonably and callously trying to push the country out of the Rome Statute as a way of expressing solidarity with those indicted. This is impunity par excellence.

The amended Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through Action to combat Impunity submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 8 February 2005 defines impunity as: “the impossibility, de jure or de facto, of bringing the perpetrators of violations to account – whether in criminal, civil, administrative or disciplinary proceedings – since they are not subject to any inquiry that might lead to their being accused, arrested, tried and, if found guilty, sentenced to appropriate penalties, and to making reparations to their victims.”

Moreover, the First Principle of the same document opines that “Impunity arises from a failure by States to meet their obligations to investigate violations; to take appropriate measures in respect of the perpetrators, particularly in the area of justice, by ensuring that those suspected of criminal responsibility are prosecuted, tried and duly punished; to provide victims with effective remedies and to ensure that they receive reparation for the injuries suffered; to ensure the inalienable right to know the truth about violations; and to take other necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of violations.”

Going by the above, suffice to say that impunity has taken a permanent abode in Kenya. Given the altercations surrounding the president`s nominations particularly into the judicial service commission, there is little doubt that Kenya has failed to put in place credible judicial mechanisms to oversee the delivery of justice. In spite of this, forces within Government are active in seeking referral, which has now been replaced with deferral of cases against the Ocampo six. Besides there has been a deliberate attempt by a section of the Government to incite other African countries (vide shuttle diplomacy) to pull en masse out of ICC.

Given that there those in government who can be so bold in rallying other countries to support our culture of impunity it can only be that there are individuals who are prepared to go to extreme ends to defeat justice even if it means reverting to chaos. These are the circumstances that forced the PM to speak out his fears over attempts by some individuals to forestall justice.

It is therefore an act of hypocrisy for a section of legislators to demand that the PM cites intelligence reports to back claims of recurrence of PEV in 2012. Curiously the same legislators have been quick to point out (without any iota of evidence) that the prosecution of those bearing greatest responsibility in the 2007-2008 PEV will be a serious threat to national peace and security.

It can only be that those castigating the PM over his remarks are predictably malicious as is attested by their fantastic misrepresentation of facts. Hidden behind their flippant remarks is a formidable façade to pamper impunity.