Le Bureau du Procureur The Office of the Prosecutor

Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Statement on the Situation in Kenya
14 August 2013 The Hague
[Where we are today]

1. On 10 September 2013, the case against Mr. Ruto and Mr. Sang is scheduled to begin, in The Hague. Mr. Kenyattas trial will begin on 12 November 2013. As these dates draw nearer, we wish to remind all Kenyans about the journey that led us to where we are today.

[Post-Election Violence ]

2. The announcement of the results of the 27 December 2007 election in Kenya triggered one of the most serious outbursts of violence in Kenyas recent history. That violence resulted in more than 1,100 people dead, 3,500 injured, approximately 350,000-600,000 victims of forcible displacement, hundreds of victims of rape and sexual violence, and more than 100,000 properties destroyed in six out of eight of Kenyas provinces.

[Mediation] 3. On 28 February 2008, international mediation efforts led by Kofi Annan, Chair of the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities, resulted in the signing of a power-sharing agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. That agreement established three commissions: (1) the Commission of Inquiry on PostElection Violence (CIPEV); (2) the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission; and (3) the Independent Review Commission on the General Elections held in Kenya on 27 December 2007.
Maanweg 174, 2516 AB The Hague, The Netherlands Maanweg 174, 2516 AB La Haye, Pays-Bas Telephone Tlphone +31(0)70 515 85 15 / Facsimile Tlcopie +31(0)70 515 87 77 www.icc-cpi.int

4. On 15 October 2008 the Commission of Inquiry on PostElection Violence published its Final Report. The Report recommended the establishment of a special tribunal to seek accountability against persons bearing the greatest responsibility for crimes relating to the 2007 Elections in Kenya, short of which, the Report recommended forwarding information it collected to the ICC.

[Why the ICC Intervened: Kenyas Failure to Establish a Local Tribunal] 5. Today, many people have forgotten the intensive efforts of the ICC throughout 2008 and 2009, to encourage Kenya to establish genuine national proceedings.

6. On 16 December 2008, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga agreed to implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission, and specifically to prepare and submit a Bill to the National Assembly to establish the Special Tribunal.

7. On 28 January 2009, Kenyan Parliamentarians finalized a draft of the statute for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Kenya, and the draft Constitution of Kenya (amendment) bill 2009. Proposed changes were presented to the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and the Parliamentary legal committee for fine-tuning before presenting the final bill to parliament.1 Yet, on 12 February 2009, the Kenyas Parliament failed to adopt the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2009. Parliament rejected the bill by 101 to 93 votes.2 As such, a vote on the Special Tribunal for Kenya Bill was rendered moot, and this attempt to establish a Special Tribunal failed.

8. In the meantime, on 11 February 2009 the Prosecutor affirmed that that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) was monitoring the situation in Kenya, and was continuing to followup on whether there were national proceedings into the 2008 postelection violence in Kenya.

1 2

State House press release 28 January 2009 (http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/news/jan09/2009280101.htm). State House press release 12 February 2009 (http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/news/feb09/2009120201.htm).
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9. On 3 July 2009 the Prosecutor met with a high level delegation of Kenyan Government officials, in The Hague. The Kenyan officials and the Prosecutor agreed that impunity would not be an option, and that, to prevent new violence in 2012 it was necessary to prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed during the post election violence. The Kenyan delegation committed to provide the Prosecutor with an update, by the end of September 2009, on the steps they would take to investigate and prosecute the post-election violence in Kenya.

10. On 9 July 2009, the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities, chaired by Kofi Annan, announced its submission to the Prosecutor of a sealed envelope which contained a list of persons allegedly implicated in the violence, as well as supporting materials entrusted to Mr. Annan by the Waki Commission. On 16 July 2009, the Prosecutor received the sealed envelope and boxes of material compiled by the Commission. The Prosecutor opened the sealed envelope, examined its content and resealed it.

11. On 26 August 2009, the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2009 aiming at the establishment of a special tribunal was gazetted. However, this bill was not debated in Parliament as it lacked the requisite quorum. Additional bills to establish a Special Tribunal did not meet the necessary parliamentary quorum.

12. On 5 November 2009, the Prosecutor met with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nairobi. The Prosecutor informed them that since all the statutory criteria were fulfilled, it was his duty to open an investigation. Accordingly, he requested the cooperation of Kenyan national authorities with the Court. The Prosecutor recalled the complementary roles of the ICC and the Kenyan authorities in combating impunity. In a joint press conference the same day, the Prosecutor announced his intention to request authorization to proceed with an investigation into the situation of the Republic of Kenya.

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13. President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga issued a joint statement, in which they stated that Kenya remained fully committed to cooperating with the ICC within the framework of the Rome Statute and the Kenyan International Crimes Act. [Conclusion]

Kenya is a State Party to the Rome Statute. The Government of Kenya chose to commit Kenya to the ICC process, now let justice run its course.

The Office of the Prosecutor is doing what we promised to do. The Prosecutor has a clear mandate to fight impunity and contribute to the prevention of future crimes. The Prosecutor is working to bring to justice those most responsible for attacking, raping, displacing and pillaging thousands of innocent Kenyans. The Prosecutor and her office are working for the people of Kenya, for the victims of massive crimes; for women who were raped and infected with HIV, for parents who lost their children, for families those who lost their homes. Now let justice run its course.

Thank you.

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