Kofi Annan and the Secret envelop

Who is Inside?

By Ohaga Ohaga

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Since post -election violence rocked Kenya in December 2007, the former UN secretary -General Kofi Annan has been in the Kenyan headlines on a daily basis.

Last week was no different. The former UN secretary-general caught many by surprise when he handed over the secret list containing the names of suspects of the post election violence to the International Criminal Court.

After one and half years of dilly- dallying by the Kenyan government in establishing a local tribunal to prosecute the post election suspects, Kofi Annan seem to have run out patience and submitted the list to the international criminal court prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.

For those that are not familiar with the Kenyan situation, and is wondering what Annan is doing with a secret envelop- well, this is a summary of it all and how Annan comes into the equation.

Kenyan went into general elections in 2007, the election were disputed resulting into ethnic based violence leaving at least 1,300 dead.

Kofi Annan intervened, successfully mediating the difference between Kibakis’s PNU's party and Raila's ODM. Soon after that, recommendations were made.

A commission was established to look into the orchestrators of the violence.

Justice Waki headed the inquiry. Upon completion, Waki listed the names of the suspects in a sealed envelope and gave to Annan for safe custody.

The names were to be submitted to the International Criminal Court if the Kenyan government failed to put a local tribunal to try the suspects.

Now, that we are on the same page, let’s move on. Where was I? Okay, I was telling you that last week on Friday, the chief mediator decided to hand over the list to the ICC catching the government all asleep.

Why did he do that? Well, no one knows but as usual, we all know the Kenyan government was not keen on bringing justice to this nation leave alone establishing a local tribunal.

In a letter addressed to President Kibaki and copied to the Prime minister Raila Odinga, Annan explains elaborately and precisely his reasons for submitting the secret list to the ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.

I don’t have much space right here- otherwise; I could have pasted the letter for you. Nevertheless, I will move on and with your indulgence hypothetically look at Annan’s move.

For starters, there could be countless reasons why the former UN secretary general handed over the list; however, there are those that seem heavier.

One of them is that the gentleman seems to have sensed a looming danger in being cut -off - the process by the Kenyan government in fulfilling his desire to bring the suspects to book.

This is well explained by the fact that after he had extended the deadline upon which the local tribunal was to be set up in August, the Kenyan government sent a delegation to Geneva to meet with the ICC prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo.

According to sources, Annan was neither briefed nor consulted over the matter and only came to learn through his aides thereafter.

Never mind that on arrival from Geneva, the Kenyan delegation briefed the government that Ocampo had given them at least 360 more days to establish the local tribunal.

In his views, this might have been deliberate tactics by the Kenyan government to continue derailing the process or cutting him completely off.

Like a wise man, he learnt that Kenya wanted to deal with Ocampo directly; he therefore gave them a reason to do so. The secret envelop to Ocampo.

Two, Annan, like a wise person, must have noted with concern the lack of political will in establishing a special tribunal to prosecute suspects of the violence.

He had no choice therefore in handing over the list to enable ICC begin the charges and to end further speculation from the Kenyan citizens and the world at large.

Lastly, Annan is a diplomat and not a politician. He did not want to be dragged into the Kenyan local tribal ethnicentrism politics that would make him take sides.

If you did not know, it’s not easy being a politician in Kenya without being tribal.

Whichever the reason that drove him to make the move, in one way or the other is justified. Don’t get me wrong- I am not in support of what he did, but being in such a position I must agree he had few options.

I would have done the same thing.

The only problem like you might have read in one of my articles is that neither The Hague nor local tribunal will resolve our case.

Nonetheless, it is a good start and can't wait to see how it all rolls out.