Stop using PEV victims for political capital, Ruto tells Opposition

Deputy President William Ruto shares a light moment with children when he joined Christians for a Sunday service at Jesus Winners Ministry in Roysambu, Nairobi. [Photo: Willis Awandu/Standard]

Deputy President William Ruto has chided the Opposition for allegedly using post-election violence victims to gain political mileage.

Mr Ruto said it was unfortunate that some politicians were using misery of victims to drive their political agenda.

The DP made the remarks in reference to the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy’s (CORD) rally in Kibera, where some of the victims of the 2007/08 were made to share their ordeals.

“Instead of taking them to a political rally, bring them for compensation,” the DP said.

The same sentiments were echoed by MPs Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South), John Njoroge (Kasarani), Rachel Shebesh (Nairobi County) and Moses Kuria (Gatundu South).

“What the victims want is compensation and not parading them for political expediency,” said Mr Waweru.

He also accused CORD of using the victims’ plight to incite the public that the Government was not committed to compensate them.

Senators James Orengo (Siaya), Johnstone Muthama (Machakos) and a host of the Opposition leaders on Saturday shared the podium with some of the post-election violence victims.

The Opposition leaders accused the Jubilee administration of turning a blind eye to the plight of families who lost loved ones and the internally displaced persons, further claiming that the Government was paying greater attention to victims from the backyard of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto.

At some point, Orengo assisted Bernard Ndege, a victim from Homa Bay, to display his scarred body.

And Sunday, Orengo and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed termed the DP’s remarks as “misplaced opinion”, stating that they would continue standing with the victims since the Government had failed to compensate them nine years after they were uprooted from their homes.

Orengo criticised the Jubilee leadership for “choosing to celebrate their victory while ignoring the victims”.

“The victims came out of ICC empty-handed. If there was a conviction, compensation could have followed,” said Orengo.

Orengo expressed his frustrations with Kenya’s bid to pull out from the Rome Statute, saying the ruling coalition was more concerned with protecting the perpetrators but not the victims.

Local tribunal

The CORD leaders called for the establishment of a local judicial tribunal to try post-election violence suspects so that the matter could be dealt with once and for all.

Mohamed, on his part, asked the Government to compensate victims fairly and without bias.

Ndege, while sharing his ordeal at the Kibera Laini Saba rally, claimed that no IDP from Nyanza and Western had been compensated while those from Central and Rift Valley were each given Sh400,000 and a two-acre piece of land.

“ICC was about victims and suspects, and now that all suspects are free, we want to see the Government compensating all victims without any favour because of where they come from,” said Mohamed.

Sunday, the Deputy President reiterated the government’s commitment to compensate and resettle victims of the political violence occasioned by the disputed 2007 presidential election results.

He restated the Jubilee leadership’s Afraha Stadium statement that no other Kenyan will ever face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over political chaos.

“ICC is now a closed chapter. It is behind us and no other Kenyan will be taken there again,” said the DP.

He called on the political class never to take the country into another political warpath, and instead asked them to preach peace and reconciliation as the country prepares for the 2017 polls. He invited the Opposition to rally the country in forging honest unity as Kenyans prepare for the 2017 General Election.

Separately, the sponsor of a Bill seeking Kenya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute said the push had gained momentum following the President’s declaration that no Kenyan shall ever again face trial at the ICC.

Bumula MP Boniface Otsyula, who sponsored the Bill seeking the repeal of the International Crimes Act, which domesticates the Rome Statute and allows the country’s cooperation with the ICC, said the House Business Committee would meet this week to decide when it would be debated.