Ruto's ICC trials snatching some African pride

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto and his lead Lawyer Karim Khan during a break in the former's ICC trial in The Hague September 17, 2013. BILLY MUTAI

In Summary

• Ever since December 2010 when Mr Ruto and five other Kenyans were named as being most responsible for the violence that focused world attention on Kenya after the disputed 2007 presidential election, the cases against them have been tried in numerous sites
• This case has been tried at the United Nations Security Council for its potential to pose a threat to the security of Kenya and the entire East African region

ICC cases

By Kwamchetsi Makokha
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For some reason, the trial of Deputy President William Ruto, which resumes Tuesday, is supposed to mortify and embarrass all Africans in general and Kenyans in particular.

Ever since December 2010 when Mr Ruto and five other Kenyans were named as being most responsible for the violence that focused world attention on Kenya after the disputed 2007 presidential election, the cases against them have been tried in numerous sites.

They have been tried in places of worship, and at prayer rallies, where God was challenged to choose between those who suffered death, rape, injury and loss on one hand, and the innocent who have been falsely accused, on the other. No one was embarrassed by it.

DEFENDING DIGNITY

The cases have been tried at the African Union, where heads of state and government have defended the dignity of the black person in the face of threats from imperial powers. No one has been insulted by it.

Twice in as many years, the National Assembly has tried the case by revisiting Kenya’s continued association with state parties who have ratified the Rome Statute. No one felt any shame.

This case has been tried at the United Nations Security Council for its potential to pose a threat to the security of Kenya and the entire East African region. It has been argued as a fitting test of the maturity of the new justice systems established after the promulgation of the new Constitution. No one hid his face in shame.

These cases have been vigorously prosecuted at the ballot, where voters were told that a victory for the accused would be a referendum on the veracity of the charges at the International Criminal Court. The dignity of the nation did not seem to injure much.

The media, too, has not been left behind, with its regular punditry predicting an early demise, and wondering about the motivations of the prosecutor. It is being tried on social media, where the disappearance of witnesses, the regularity with which they recant testimony and their confession to coaching pursues truth each day.

In all these forums, the cases have been adjudged to be non-existent figments of the imagination, imperial ploys to re-colonise Africa and humiliate its leaders, machinations by local politicians working in cahoots with foreign puppet masters to deny Kenyans the leadership they deserve.

NO DIGNITY FOR THE DEAD

Of all the things Kenya has done around the shocking violence that erupted in the aftermath of the 2007 elections, not a single minute of silence has been observed in remembrance of the over 1,100 lives lost. This should give everybody who has tried these cases elsewhere pause: these cases now need to be tried where they belong – in court.

Ultimately, should the evidence show that the accused are not responsible for the crimes that were committed, Kenya will have moved one step closer to knowing the truth about what happened; just as it will be the case in the event that they are found guilty. Perhaps this way, all of Africans – and Kenyans - might be able to rescue some pride from this entire process.