ICC prosecutor to ask judges for Kenya probe in December

NAIROBI (AFP) – The International Criminal Court's prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Thursday he would ask the court's judges in December to order a probe into Kenya's post-poll violence which claimed some 1,500 lives.

At the start of a two-day visit, Moreno-Ocampo held talks with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on trying the suspects in Kenya's worst post-independence unrest.

"I consider the crimes committed in Kenya are crimes against humanity. Therefore the gravity is there. Therefore I should proceed," he told reporters after the meeting.

"So I informed them (that) in December I will request the judges of the International Criminal Court to order an investigation," he added.

Both Kibaki and Odinga, whose 2007 election dispute sparked the violence, pledged to cooperate with the ICC but did not make it clear whether they approved the prosecutor's decision to press on.

"We are ready and willing to work in cooperation with Mr Ocampo to ensure that those who bear responsibility for the crimes that were committed are brought to justice," said Odinga.

The ICC has conducted preliminary investigations since February 2008 on the violence and Moreno-Ocampo's office in September said clearly that he was determined to prosecute those "most responsible" for the deadly violence.

The Kenyan government has yet to act on the recommendation of its own year-old inquiry that a special tribunal be set up to try key suspects.

Parliament earlier this year rejected a bill aimed at creating the court, arguing that the tribunal would be prone to political interference, but critics have said the move was out of fear of facing trial.

The prosecutor said in September that he said he would make the east Africa country a "world example on managing violence."

The list of the main suspects has not been made public, but it is known to include several ministers and members of parliament.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, who handed the ICC the list in July, last month warned of a serious risk of resumption of violence if Kenya fails to undertake institutional and legal reforms.

Western governments have in recent months piled pressure on Kenya's unity government to accelerate the reforms.

On Wednesday, Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako admitted during a press conference that he was the first official to have his US visa revoked as part of sanctions slapped by Washington on officials accused of involvement in the post-election violence and of obstructing reform.

Annan helped mediate an end to the violence, crafting a power-sharing government in which Kibaki retained his job and Odinga was made the prime minister.

Clashes erupted after Kibaki was declared the winner of the December 27, 2007 polls, sparking accusations from Odinga that he had rigged his re-election.

What began as political violence quickly turned into reprisal tribal killings, tapping on poverty, long-held ethnic hatred and unresolved land disputes.

Kenya's next general elections will be in 2012.