The "Victims" Want the ICC Cases Terminated

In just under one hour the ICC is going to make a decision that will greatly determine the political career of one Mr. William Samoe Ruto, Kenya’s Deputy President. The other co -accused is Mr. Joshua Arap Sang whose case is inconsequential if and when detached from the DP unless of course he leverages his acquittal to seek a political office, after all, in Kenya the accused are actually loved. When someone has been accused of those nasty things like corruption, they easily gain popularity and are often rewarded with political power.  Mr. Joshua can easily make it to the National Assembly, Senate or governorship in 2017 if acquitted. He may as well be a beneficiary of so called “sympathy vote” for having been “unjustly” paraded in the ICC for over 5 years.

Going back to Ruto, I recently read a piece from Professor Makau Mutua who seemed to have a very blunt assessment of the plight of the post-election violence (PEV) victims and the government's promise to set up a Ksh 10 billion restorative fund for them. By the way I hear the “victims” have already reconciled and have no need of the ICC. My friend thinks that the ones we saw on TV calling on the termination of the ICC cases were hired and not real victims. I have reasons to doubt her since I never bother do any research to ascertain the truth; a typical Kenyan I am dictates that I take what media brings to my living room as the gospel truth. So in that same “comrade spirit and power”, I trust victims have already reconciled. Kenya in general and victims in particular need not the ICC. In fact, if the Judges do not terminate the cases facing Ruto and Sang this day; the “victims” with support from government are going to troop to The Hague to force the termination of the cases so did the “victims” say. That is it. Never mind me. I am just reporting what the “victims” said. It defeats categories of practical reason to continue pursuing justice for the people who do not want it. If the “victims” have healed why bother the accused perpetrators. But again there are many people who were involved why only Ruto and Sang? Why Kalenjins only? These kinds of questions are not any new to my ears neither are they to many a Kenyan. After all, “all we need is peace and the ICC is a threat to the very peace that we want alive especially as we head to 2017 elections.”

But I heard Makau argue that Kenyatta’s regime is built on the blood of the victims of the 2008 PEV which he and his deputy William Ruto were accused of masterminding from opposite ends. Inexplicably, the two used the ICC cases arising out of those charges to ascend to power. The duo then used state power to defeat justice for victims at the ICC according to the distinguished professor of law who has for 3 years refused to acknowledge Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency. “And who cares he can go hang, after all, Uhuru will still be his president.” That is what I hear from a distance. Anyway those are the words of the controversial Makau whether you want to believe them or not he has said them anyway and they are up in the air. He further argues that there's no political pressure or incentive for this regime to compensate or resettle victims. When reading him, I got confused since as you realize already I have been meant to believe that “victims” have actually been settled and have healed and have reconciled and are at peace. Then Makau says that hell will freeze over first before victims see a single cent of the fictitious Ksh. 10 billion! This is the money that President Kenyatta promised in last year’s state of the nation address that his government would set aside for reparations for victims of various injustices including the PEV. I hear that there is reason to hope that it doesn’t end where other set aside monies do. According to Makau only a different regime can ever respond to the victims not the regime that ascended to power through the sacred blood of the said victims. This left me wondering and thinking but then let us wait and see where and how this ICC thing ends.