By Standard Team
Will President Kibaki co-operate with International Criminal Court in the next phase of trials if post-election suspects lose the last appeal standing between them and full trial at The Hague?
This is the big question lurking in the shadows of a series of events and even his own actions, which seem to point at the fact that something could be in the offing, or in the least, that someone may be softening the ground for non-co-operation with ICC.
The speculation something could be afoot rose on Tuesday, not just because of the reshuffle that settled scores over The Hague row in Cabinet. Eldoret North MP William Ruto (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta [Photos: File/Standard]
This was also the same day Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, who with the blessing of the President, led the shuttle diplomacy across the globe to lobby for deferral or return of Kenyaâs case at The Hague to the local courts, was in Sudan with a "special messageâ for President Omar Al Bashir.
Now, Bashir is the besieged President indicted by ICC and whose movement is limited because an arrest warrant is out for him.
However, it came out he enjoys a cozy relationship with Kibakiâs administration when in 2010 he came to Kenya without fear of arrest and handover to the ICC.
The VPâs office, however, insists the visit had nothing to do with ICC, though it is unlikely a meeting between President Kibakiâs messenger and an ICC VIP suspect would end without discussions on The Hague given the profile of Kenyans fighting off full trial.
Wield influence
"The Vice-President went to deliver a message on behalf of President Kibaki to President Bashir on the South-North (Sudan) conflict," said Kaplich Barsito, the VPâs spokesman.
As Kalonzo met Bashir Kibaki reshuffled his side of the Grand Coalition Cabinet, transferring outspoken Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo from Justice Ministry, and Moses Wetangula from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
