By Luis Moreno
Ocampo
Luis Moreno Ocampo,
the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has issued a
statement saying that some Kenyan media have misused his words
to allege that in
his recent interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide he "admitted"
the Kenyan cases at the ICC were "fixed". You can read his statement
here.
The Hague Trials
Kenya contacted Luis Moreno Ocampo last week to follow up on the interview he
gave its parent organization, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW), earlier this
year. The first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court responded
with this statement.
On 22 January 2014,
I gave an interview to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, in which I discussed my
former role as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). I
responded to a wide range of questions from the Kenyan people about the
challenges I faced at that time, and decisions I took in the context of
investigating and prosecuting the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya.
However, since the
interview was published, certain outlets in the Kenyan media have misused my
words to falsely allege that during the course of that interview,
I"admitted" that the current Kenya cases at the ICC
were"fixed".
Unfortunately, the
people of Kenya have been plied with a steady stream of inaccurate and
inflammatory media reports, asserting that I "confessed"that Western
diplomats "used the ICCto subvert the rights of Kenyansto choose their own
leaders democratically". Nothing could be further from the truth.
To avoid any doubt,
I would like to correct the public record and state categorically that such
claims are incorrect.
During the interview
in question, I clearly stated that it was not my role to make any
pronouncements on the eligibility of Messrs. Uhuru Kenyatta or William Ruto to
run for Kenya’s general election. I explained that after the Pre-Trial Chamber
confirmed charges against Messrs. Kenyatta and Ruto, I flatly refused to be
drawn into any discussions on whether they should be barred from contending for
the presidential elections in Kenya. Rather, I have publicly and consistently
stated that it was the role of Kenya’s own courts to determine who should be
eligible to compete in Kenya’s elections. I maintained that it was of course
only up to the Kenyan people to choose their leaders.
My interview with
Radio Netherlands Worldwide was an opportunity for me to set the record
straight about how I took decisions when I was the prosecutor of the ICC. As I
have always stated, the decisions I took to charge the suspects – in every
case, including with respect to the Kenyan cases – were based on my assessment
of the evidence available at the time. I followed the evidence and in strict
conformity with of the Rome Statute legal framework. However, evidence can
change; for example, keywitnesses can be threatened and, as a result, they may
withdraw their willingness to cooperate with the ICC process. Several other factors
may also erode the evidence that a prosecutor collects during their
investigation. These are complex issues that the current prosecutor must
grapple with. My term as the ICC Prosecutor ended in June 2012, and I am no
longer involved in these cases.
To be perfectly
clear, my comments to Radio Netherlands Worldwide concerned my refusal to get
involved in political matters. I hope Kenyan journalists will publish this
clarification and will abstain from repeating inaccuracies about my statement.
The people of Kenya, including the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election
violence, deserve no less.
Watch the
full-length Ocampo Exclusive video interview.
The opinions
expressed here are those of their author and are not intended to reflect those
of The Hague Trials Kenya. Have an opinion you would like to share? Leave a
comment below, emailthehaguetrialskenya@rnw.orgor join the discussion on
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