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By:
Steve Mkawale and Vincent Mabatuk | |||||||||
| Posted:
Sep,07-2015 11:51:14
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They turned up in large numbers, on foot and in cars, to bend their knees and seek divine intervention for the two prominent Kenyans left in the dock of the International Criminal Court. Not far from a traditional shrine the Kalenjin consider sacred and its grounds hallowed, and regardless of their religious persuasion and ethnic roots, they prayed for an end to the trial for alleged crimes against humanity against two sons of the Kenyan soil; Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang. They prayed to God that the two would also enjoy freedom from trial just like the four others whose charges fell off one by one: President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, former Cabinet Minister and Orange Chairman Henry Kosgey and former police chief Hussein Ali. The politicians of all party stripes converged at the little -known Kiptoror Shrine in Nakuru County to beseech God that the ICC burden be lifted off the shoulders, not only of Ruto and Sang, but also those of their families, friends and supporters. Meeting under pregnant cumulus clouds, which soon gave way as the skies opened up, the about 200 members of the National Assembly and Senate, flanked by an equal number of members of county assemblies, were watched and listened to by the multitude who thronged the site. The downpour may have scattered them to share limited shelter but it did not break their spirit or distract them. The well-attended rally was cut-short by the heavy downpour that forced Bishop Jackson Kosgei of Worldwide Churches to shorten his prayer. The politicians had come from far and wide, to seek divine intervention following last week's decision by ICC judges to allow recanted testimonies by hostile witnesses to be used in the trial of Ruto and Sang. And as soon as pastors intoned their prayers, politics took centre-stage. According to Kalenjin elders, Kiptoror was the last battlefield between the colonial masters and their forefathers. It is because of that victorious history that they decided to converge for special prayers there yesterday. However, prayers at the actual secret Kiptoror Shrine failed to proceed as planned, after religious leaders prevailed upon the elders to abandon that for another day. The host, Kuresoi North MP Moses Cheboi (KANU), said he was certain that Ruto and Sang never committed the alleged crimes and they will be acquitted. "All political parties are represented here. We are at Kiptoror to go down on our knees and ask God to stand in the gap on behalf of our two brothers," he told the surging crowd. Several women MPs from both the Jubilee and the Opposition joined Kalenjin gospel artist Emmy Kosgei, while their male counterparts stormed the stage alongside the Bureti Stars Band associated with the Kalenjin song Kilontoi Wee (We shall overcome). The musician led the charged crowd with Kilontoi Wee, turning the church service emotional as women reached for their lessos to wipe tears and others went into silent prayers. Security officers had a hard time screening and controlling the crowds. Those who got the opportunity to speak railed at the ICC, vowing to use all necessary means to ensure that the trial against the two comes to an end. In a show of solidarity and commitment to the coalition that brought President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP Ruto to power, Jubilee politicians accused the court of using the case to profile the Kalenjin community. Their argument was that ICC had, by allowing the use of the recanted evidence with no chance of rebuttal, condemned the Kalenjin community by depicting its elders and institutions as a "criminal network". Nandi Senator Stephen Sang set the ball rolling when he told the cheering crowd that the case was no longer about Ruto and Sang but an attempt by Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to put on trial one of the Kenyan communities. "We will not allow one community to be singled out by an international court. ICC has turned tribal and as a country we must not allow this to happen," he said. Not a court The senator worked up the crowd when he claimed the evidence Bensouda was introducing in the case was against the Kalenjin community. Senate and National Assembly majority leaders' Kithure Kindiki and Aden Duale vowed that Jubilee would apply diplomacy, political and legal means to ensure the trial facing the DP ends. "We will not rest until the case against the Deputy President and Sang comes to an end. We will use diplomacy where applicable, politics if we have to and apply the law where necessary until that case is terminated," promised Kindiki. "We were utterly shocked by the conduct, mischief and mechanisation at the International Criminal Court. The President, his deputy and Sang, being staunch believers of the truth, the rule of law and justice, surrendered themselves to the ICC with a belief that this was a court for justice. It is now beyond doubt that the ICC is neither a court of justice nor even a court at all," said Mr Kindiki who was initially Ruto's lawyer at the trial. He said Kenyans now have a reason to believe that the case was no longer about Ruto and the radio journalist but a trial of the community. Mr Duale said the recent development in The Hague was a clear demonstration that the court was longer interested in finding the truth but had resorted to being a political tool for certain individuals. "That the ICC by itself went to the Assembly of States Parties to create Rule 68, thereby changing the rule of engagement targeting the Kenyan case midway and deceitfully created the impression before Kenyans and African Union delegation, that changes were innocent and not intended to be used in the Kenyan case, speaks volumes about the duplicity of the court," said Duale. Duale said the Jubilee coalition will remain intact under the President and his deputy and there is no cause for alarm over the future of the coalition. Kindiki claimed that, by using the amendment, the ICC had violated the agreement and it seemed hell-bent to secure a conviction in the Ruto case by use of falsified evidence. "The ICC is applying double-standards by using Rule 68 yet when Kenya threatened to pull out of it, they insisted that the trial would go on whether Parliament passes a motion to withdraw or not," Kindiki noted. Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen has argued all along that Kenyans thought the case was about justice but when the judges decided to use evidence from witnesses who had pulled out and recanted their statement, "we were convinced the matter is now politics." "The move by the court demonstrates that they have a predetermined outcome of the case and are willing to do anything to achieve it. ICC is desperate to fulfill its threat to make Kenya an example by hook or crook," he said. He claimed ICC had decided to put on trial a community including its leaders, business people, youth and women. "This is no longer about the DP and Sang, the court has now profiled an entire community terming them thugs and criminals of an organised network and as Kenyans we can no longer allow that to happen," he said. More than 30 MPs from Central who attended the prayer meeting vowed to stand by Ruto claiming they were aware of a scheme to divide Kenyans by continuing with the trial of the DP. Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu said they would not allow the court to profile the community. Kericho Senator Charles Keter, said many people had allegedly talked ill about the Sunday prayer meeting but they were ready to prove them wrong. "Today, all our leaders are equal before God and man, what brought us together is prayers only," said Mr Keter. Turbo MP Elisha Busienei charged the crowd by alleging that several youths believed to be ICC witnesses were still missing from his constituency. | |||||||||
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