KENYA: North Rift Residents Dismiss Claims of Fresh Violence over ICC ruling

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Submitted by IQ4News on Wed, 18/01/2012 - 10:12am

There have been allegations of a possible return to violence in the hot spots should the ICC confirm cases involving 6 Kenyans it believes instigated violence in 2008. IQ4News visited the areas and talked to the people on the ground.

By Joab Apollo

Residents of areas that were affected by violence after the disputed 2007 general elections in Kenya have dismissed claims of tension and fresh violence should the International Criminal Court confirm the cases involving 6 Kenyans it accuses of plotting the skirmishes.

A spot check by IQ4News in North Rift, labeled as the epicenter of post election violence, revealed that although the government has heightened security ahead of the rulings, residents are going about their businesses undeterred.

At Kiambaa village where an estimated 30 people were burnt alive in a church, the mood is normal with residents calling upon Kenyans to co-exist peacefully irrespective of the differences that have divided them over the past years. According to Peter Mwangi, a resident, there is need for forgiveness if the country is to remain united.

“We only hear of such allegations of fresh violence on radio and newspapers. I think they are aimed at whipping up emotions when the people have already cast the past aside. Even though what befell us in 2008 is unforgettable, there is need for us to co-exist peacefully for the benefit of our country,” Mwangi says.

However, Rose Nyambura, a maize seller, argues that even though she has not heard of cases of people selling their property and moving to safer places as it appeared in a section of the Kenyan media, should top politicians be tried, there could be violence.

“I have not heard of people selling there property. We are the ones who live here and if the allegations were true, we would be the ones selling their property. But what I’m afraid of is that if the politicians are tried, violence could break in the future because Kenyans follow political leaders blindly. To me, reconciliation is the only way out” Nyambura argues.

Kiamba village is cosmopolitan and the government of Kenya has since put up a police station within it, with heavy security to avert future skirmishes. A tomb of people killed is what remains of the Kiamba church.

Stoop low

In the streets of Eldoret, people converge to discuss the effects of a possible arraignment of the 6 suspects with many discarding violence.

A matatu tout, Eric Lelehi, reckons that young people who participated in looting and destruction of property have since learnt that such acts only affects the economic development of the country.

“No one will ever stoop that low. What we are focused on is our well being. There are other better things to be discussed in Kenya like the high cost of fuel and other basic commodities than the careers of politicians. Politicians come and go,” Lelehi states.

But Charles Kipkorir is furious about people out to paint the North rift people as violent.

“We in North Rift are peace-loving. We feel sad when every time post-election violence topic crops up, someone points accusing finger at North Rift residents. While it is true violence rocked this region in 2008, the people have learnt to peacefully co-exist with their colleagues from different communities. People making such allegations are NGOs with wrong motives,” he says, adding that during the 2010 referendum on the new constitution he was shocked that the government planted heavy security over speculations of skirmishes.

Red Alert

“We were shocked that policemen were brought when there was nothing about violence”

Kenya’s General Service Unit has been put on red alert in case of anarchy should the Kenyan cases be confirmed.

The ICC on Tuesday issued a terse statement that it intends to issue the much-awaited verdict not later than Monday, 23^rd and that it will be relayed on its website. The statement clarified that the suspects will not be required to physically appear during the announcement.

Two ICC suspects contending for the 2012 Kenya’s general election, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North legislature William Ruto have made it clear that the court’s announcement will not affect their presidential bids. However, there is a divide in opinion among lawyers and pundits in Kenya. While others argue that the law does not bar them from participating in the polls, some are of the view that the chapter on integrity and leadership deals a death knell to their candidature.

Last week, the Judicial Service Commission, a body charged with the appointments of Kenyan judges, recommended that president Mwai Kibaki suspends Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza over an incident in which she pinched a security gourd at a shopping mall in Nairobi. The commission cited the Chapter on leadership.