ICC: NOW KIGEN DEMANDS RELEASE OF WAKI REPORT

THE WORLD SHOULD KNOW WHOM WAKI NAMED, HE SAY'S

KEIYO South ODM chairman Micah Kigen has demanded the immediate release of the report prepared sometimes back by retired appellate judge Justice Philip Waki on the post-election violence in Kenya, saying the world had a right to know the identity of the culprits he listed initially.

Addressing the media, Kigen stated that he believes there was a lot of political maneuvering and "foreign influence" in the authoring of the list released by ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.

"How can there be a balance of three top individuals from the PNU side and three others from the ODM outfit?" Kigen asked.

The vocal Kenyan politician who also doubles up as a business executive, contended that even though Justice Waki had recommended that further investigations be instituted from where he had drawn his conclusions, Kenyans and the world at large had the right to be told the names of the post-election villains he had come up with.

"Arguments have been advanced to the effect that the violence was spontaneous, while claims have been made that it was planned. Can we be told how it was planned and the reasons behind the said planning?" Kigen demanded.

But he agreed that the action by the ICC of trying the suspects would go a long way in stamping out the culture of impunity in Kenya and people would strictly adhere to the law.

"The process of trying the suspects so that the truth is established has to be transparent and accountable and to the satisfaction of everybody. It should measure up to expectations", Kigen emphasized.

At the same time, the politician lambasted Kenyan Mps for lacking credibility, integrity, focus and vision in their approach to issues.

"They seem to be approaching issues with an open mouth rather than an open mind. At some stage, they supported the Hague option and poured cold water on the local tribunal to try the post-election violence masterminds. Now, they are up in arms against the Hague trials and are demanding the establishment of local tribunals. What a fallacy! When will these people be serious in their business in the National Assembly?" posed a concerned Kigen, stressing that there is no leadership in the country considering the Mps pretence.

He continued:

"The ICC should go ahead with the process of trying the masterminds of the violence. It is us who invited it! Kenyans should be calm. The ICC's drastic action has given the Kenyan voter a chance to go for real leaders, and not the so-called leaders with a propensity of buying leadership. Ocampo's action is a God-given opportunity for Kenyans to elect patriotic and upright leaders. It is a God- given opportunity!"

Kigen also shrugged off last-ditch efforts by the government to shield the Ocampo six by reportedly seeking to appoint a new Chief justice and a new Attorney General.

"The move is too little, too late. The government does not see it coming. It acts after harsh realities!" Kigen concluded.

Kanini Evans Kariuki

Kanini Evans Kariuki is a veteran Kenyan Journalist with several years of experience behind him. He was born on July 10, 1963 in Nakuru town,Rift Valley province, Kenya, at Kivumbini estate. His entire family members later shifted from Kivumbini to Flamingo estate, then Kimathi, Thumaina, Langalanga and then to Free Area, near the Lanet Army Barracks where they settled.

He completed his secondary education at Afraha Secondary School in Nakuru town , Rift Valley province,Kenya,in 1980, and then joined Naitiri High School,Western Kenya, for his"A"level education,completing in 1982. Later, he underwent training in journalism in some institutes in Kenya.

Kanini who doubles up as a researcher, has worked for all the leading Daily newspapers in Kenya;the Daily Nation, The Standard, The Kenya Times and The People Daily.He was the Eldoret town Bureau Chief of The Star newspaper-Kenya's most incisive and authoritative by-weekly newspaper, which collapsed way back in 1998 due to what was perceived as political machinations worked out against it by the past government.Eldoret town is in the Rift Valley part of Kenya,which was the hotbed of the 2007 ugly political violence.
Kanini is currently also a media consultant for Soldiers of Peace International Association,Africa liason office,Nairobi.

In his long-standing career as a journalist,Kanini has covered various dramatic events in Kenya which include the story of former renown detainee Koigi wa Wamwere. He has also covered the 1992 and 1997 politically-instigated ethnic violence in the expansive Rift Valley province, and the worst of all, the 2007 political violence in Kenya where over 1,500 people were killed,350,000 displaced, hundreds maimed and property worth billions of shilings torched following the disputed elections.

Kanini also covered the sad story of the late outspoken and fiery Kenyan clergyman bishop Alexander Kipsang arap Muge, who was famous in the East African region for fighting corruption, land -grabbing, political assassinations,bureaucracy and other irritating vices.

Bishop Muge perished in a bizzare road accident on August 14,1990 along the Eldoret/Turbo road, facing Western Kenya.

The bishop died after a controversial but triumphant visit to Western Kenya in Busia, after receiving death threats from a former cabinet minister, warning him that he would die if he dared visit the area.

Kanini also covered the historic Somalia National Peace and Reconciliation Conference from when it first kicked off in Kenya on October 15 2002, to the end.

Kanini is in the files of Amnesty International for his courage in the reportage of events in the volatile Rift Valley region, and has received commendation from the global Human Right's watchdog.

Apart from covering events in the Rift Valley, he also writes about issues affecting East and Central Africa as well as other parts of Africa.

Kanini has been trained on Journalism and ethics by the Media Institute in Kenya, and has also undergone various in-house trainings in journalism with the Daily Nation Media Group, East Africa's largest circulating newspaper.

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