More than a year has passed since the establishment of a Grand Coalition government in Kenya to resolve the divisions caused by disputed elections and ensuing inter-ethnic violence. The past year has seen the government reel from corruption crisis to corruption crisis, and the president and prime minister are reluctant to take decisive action for fear of inspiring new violence. Any efforts to establish a tribunal to try perpetrators of the post-election violence, as required by the settlement agreement brokered by Kofi Annan have been blocked by members of parliament.
On Thursday, Mr Annan handed to the International Criminal Court prosecutor an envelope containing the names of those suspected of crimes associated with the post-election violence. If Kenya does not establish a tribunal to try the suspects by 30 September, the International Criminal Court will take over. Mr Louis Oreno Ocampo, who is the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, was involved in the prosecution of the Argentinean military junta in the 1980s.
The list of suspects in the envelope was produced last year by a commission led by Justice Philip Waki. The Waki commission made a number of recommendations for reforms to prevent recurrence of the violence including reforms to government intelligence gathering, removal of the culture of impunity, and improvement in the performance of the police. These recommendations are yet to be implemented.