Germany wants ICC suspects barred

By Antony Gitonga

German minister Dirk Niebel and German ambassador to Kenya Margit Hellwig-Boette toured Karagita, Naivasha, on Sunday. [Photo: Anthony Gitonga/Standard]

Germany has expressed concern over the move by two ICC suspects to vie for presidency.

Visiting German Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development Mr Dirk Niebel said Kenya would be in a hard place if one of the suspects were to be elected and later found guilty.

In an apparent reference to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, he said that all post election violence suspects must be charged in order for the victims to get justice. Niebel said that the country should not give room for impunity.

“Though the suspects are innocent until proven guilty, Kenya could face difficulties if one of the suspects was elected and later found guilty for crimes committed during the trial,” he said.

He called for full investigations into the violence that rocked the country after the controversial 2007 elections. Niebel said that German government fully supported ICC adding that Kenyans did not want to see a reoccurrence of the PEV.

Dismissed cases

He called on the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to make sure that its report on the elections was out before the upcoming general elections so that the outcomes could be addressed by the public.

Niebel called for a free and fair election adding that his country would donate €1,000,000 towards the exercise.

On IDPs, the minister expressed his concern that they were yet to be resettled which was a necessary step.

Niebel was addressing the press in Lake Naivasha Country club after touring Karagita and Kiandege villages in Naivasha which were hardest hit by the PEV.

German ambassador to Kenya Margit Hellwig-Boette also showed concern over the move to dismiss hundreds of PEV cases.