Is Raila’s ‘Mass Action Protest’ Designed To Put Ruto Into Trouble With ICC?
The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto (left) and Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga. Photo Courtesy
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The former Secretary General of United Nation Koffi Anann (now deceased) was appointed to lead a team of eminent persons and and chair the mediation talks that brought together representatives of the two protagonists.
- Annan had a difficult time controlling the anger of those who attempted to sabotage the talks by making ill-informed and unrealistic demands.
- At one point, he clashed badly with Karua, then Kibaki’s staunch defender and his chief election agent, after she questioned his legitimacy to spearhead the negotiations.
- Kenya is an sovereign state. You are a foreigner and foreigners cannot dictate or lecture us on how to deal with our country’s internal affairs.
The post election violence of 2007 was documented as the worst political mayhem in the history of post-independence Kenya.
Some 1,333 Kenyans lost thier lives and properties worth billions were torched and destroyed.
The violence was triggered by ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s decision to reject the final results while insisting that he had won the poll but he was rigged out in broad day light.
He blamed the confidants and top allies of President Mwai Kibaki for hatching the plot.
One of them was Hon Martha Karua, who is now his running mate.
The international community was closely monitoring the unfolding events in Kenya and at some point they had to intervene. This is upon realization that none of the two leaders-Kibaki and Raila-was willing to cede the hard line stance and this was worsening the situation.
The country was now staring a full blown war.
The former Secretary General of United Nation Koffi Anann (now deceased) was appointed to lead a team of eminent persons and and chair the mediation talks that brought together representatives of the two protagonists.
Annan had a difficult time controlling the anger of those who attempted to sabotage the talks by making ill-informed and unrealistic demands.
At one point, he clashed badly with Karua, then Kibaki’s staunch defender and his chief election agent, after she questioned his legitimacy to spearhead the negotiations.
Kenya is an sovereign state. You are a foreigner and foreigners cannot dictate or lecture us on how to deal with our country’s internal affairs.
The outcome of the elections reflected the democratic and constitutional will of the Kenyan voters.
As such, President Kibaki won these elections legally and fairly.
We are telling those disatsified to seek legal recourse in a court of law. We are ready to meet them in court; the media quoted Karua as saying.
Annan would not be cowed by the threat. Instead, this emboldened his resolve and at one point he demanded that Karua should leave the talk.
For Raila, Dr William Ruto, the current President, was one of those representing him. He later abandoned him and even pushed for his prosecution.
Kenyans were upbeat when Annan announced that they have made a breakthrough.
We have reached out to Kibaki and Raila and they have agreed to put aside their political differences for the sake of Kenya’s peace, stability and development.
This would be immediately followed by an all-important event held outside The Office of the President (OP) at Harambee House which brought the two leaders together for the first time since the violence broke out two months earlier.
They embraced each other as Annan witnessed each signing the copies of The National Peace Accord.
The brief function was presided over by respective top-notch lawyers who showed them on where to sign.
Putting the blood of innocent Kenyans which was shed, Raila emerged as the winner.
He got what he wanted. He became the Prime Minister and a core principal meaning President Kibaki and himself enjoyed equal power. This cleared the way for him to appoint half of the cabinet ministers and state officials to serve in other top positions.
In the Accord, the search for justice and reparation for the victims of post-election violence stood out as the second key highlights.
Though the Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Philip Waki had named 24 Kenyans and recommended they be subjected further investigations with a view to finding out whether the claims made against each met the threshold of being prosecuted before the local courts, Kenyans were caught off-guarded when then prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moreno Ocampo announced that the court had taken over the Kenyan cases and named six Kenyans as bearing the greatest responsibility.
Were the names of six contained in the sealed envelope that had 24 individuals which Annan had forwarded to him?
Neither Kibaki nor Raila knew the names of these individuals. This is because the chief mediator had by-passed them, a development that left many Kenyans shocked. Is Kenya truly independent country? Are we still under colonization?
The criteria used by Ocampo to cherry-pick six Kenyans who he alleged bore the greatest responsibility would come to a sharp focus.
How did he settle on them? Were the names of Kibaki and Raila in this envelope? If Yes, did this informed the decision of Annan to by-pass them?
Ocampo would not answer the questions and up to date Kenyans are still in darkness.
Dr William Ruto, the current President, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta were among those charged before the ICC.
Many Kenyans believed their cases were politically motivated.
Kibaki and Raila bore the greatest responsibility and so the ICC should have pursued them.
Kenyans would be vindicated a few months later when the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.
During trial proceedings, Dr Ruto’s lead lawyer minced no word in submitting that the case facing his client is politically motivated.
The plot to fix him had been hatched by ODM leader Raila Odinga who was working together with Ocampo and leaders of Western superpowers.
This now brings me to the question.
Is Raila call for ‘mass action protest’ designed to put Dr Ruto into trouble with ICC?
It seems his strategy is to provoke the President so that he reach to a point of saying ‘this is too much’.
I cannot sit and watch anymore. Raila’s assumption is that Ruto is a hot-tempered and a violent personality.
So, in his reaction he will be lethal and the police will fire live bullets at the protestors and kill a number of them.
If this happen, Dr Ruto will be in for trouble.
In condemning these incidents and casting a picture of holier than thou, you will hear Raila saying. Look, the President has committed henious crimes against humanity. So we invite the ICC to come for him. He never learnt any lesson during the post-election violence of 2007.
So, my unsolicited advise to President Ruto is that he should deal with him within the parameters of the laws and the constitution.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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