Ida Odinga Gives her side on the Ocampo 4.

[Titchaz]

Posted Friday, January 27 2012 at 17:22

IDA ODINGA calls mechanism for local trial of 4 Kenyan suspects charged at ICC. Says speaking as a mother and has not consulted PM, her husband.

ICC Pre-trial judges on Monday confirmed charges against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, Eldoret North MP William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang.

Mrs Odinga was quick to clarify that she had yet to consult her husband , Prime Minister Raila Odinga, on the matter and was only expressing her opinion as a mother and a wife to a former political prisoner.

“ These are people we have lived with and are like my brothers. These are people known to me personally…. Its better this case be handled in Kenya,” said Ida.

Mrs Odinga said she shares the anguish that the families and the children of the four accused are currently going through.

"Having been a wife of a former prisoner I understand how Rachel (Ruto’s wife), Mama Ngina (Uhuru’s mother) and radio presenter Sang’s wife and children and Mrs Muthaura’s are feeling.

“ My own mother in-law succumbed to depression when his son who is now my husband Raila Odinga was in prison. I understand how the families are feeling. I can tell you its not a good feeling,” said Ida.

She said there was need for a quick closure for all prosecutions related to the 2007 - 2008 post-election violence.

Mrs Odinga noted that the problems facing the country at this moment can be surmounted by Kenyans themselves.

She also called for a speedy resettlement of all IDPs.

www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1315130/-/8s692i/-/index.html

[mangai]

Jan 27, 2012 17:25:36 GMT 3 Titchaz said:

Eti Breaking News:... .... .... ;D

Posted Friday, January 27 2012 at 17:22

IDA ODINGA calls mechanism for local trial of 4 Kenyan suspects charged at ICC. Says speaking as a mother and has not consulted PM, her husband.

www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1315130/-/8s692i/-/index.html

www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/01/ocampo-4-cases-should-come-to-kenya-ida/

Ocampo 4 cases should come to Kenya – Ida

Posted by WAMBUI NDONGA on January 27, 2012

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 27 – The wife of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Ida, now says the country should seek mechanisms that would allow the cases facing four Kenyans at International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity moved to Kenya.
Ida said that she shares in the anguish that the families of Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Joshua arap Sang and Francis Muthaura are being subjected to.
“Having been a wife of a former prisoner, I do understand how Rachel (Ruto’s wife), Mama Ngina (Uhuru’s mother) and radio presenter Sang’s wife and children and Mrs Muthaura are feeling,” she said.
“My own mother in-law succumbed to depression when her son who is now my husband, Raila Odinga, was in prison. I understand how the families are feeling. I can tell you it’s not a good feeling,” she said in a statement.
Ida argued that Kenyans were better placed to come up with solutions for local problems saying the issues facing the country, at the ICC, should be addressed internally.
She also said that the trials at the war crimes court cast Kenya in bad light.
She also called for the speedy conclusion of all issues surrounding the deadly 2008 post election violence saying there was need for its conclusion.
Ida stressed the need for resettling all Internally Displaced Persons so that Kenyans could comfortably move on from the ghosts of the post poll chaos.
“The issue of the Post Election Violence needs to be brought to closure to allow Kenyans to move on to other developmental issues,” she said.
She further cautioned Kenyans against rejoicing at what Kenyatta, Muthaura, Ruto and Sang were facing at the ICC.
“These are people we have lived with and are like my brothers. These are people known to me personally,” said Ida.
Meanwhile two constitutional commissions have called for the resignation of Kenyatta as Deputy Prime Minister arguing that the reasons that compelled his stepping down as Finance Minister equally applied.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights acting Chairman Samuel Tororei and the chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo argued that Kenyatta’s post as Deputy Prime Minister bore a higher significance than that of the Finance Minister.
“The office of the Deputy Prime Minister attracts a higher threshold of the requisite leadership, integrity and ethical standards so we urge Kenyatta to relinquish this post,” they said in a joint statement.
Kenyatta can only relinquish this post if he chooses to resign, if he loses his parliamentary seat or if Members of Parliament pass a vote of no confidence in his leadership. The PNU side of the coalition government is then free to nominate any individual to replace him.
The two commissions however lauded Kenyatta and Muthaura for stepping aside, as they await the outcome of their ICC case.
“This should form a precedent for all similar situations in the future,” said Amollo.
They acknowledged the president for appointing a tribunal to investigate the conduct of Nancy Baraza, who has been suspended as Deputy Chief Justice.

[b6k]

Jan 27, 2012 17:36:20 GMT 3 mangai said:

“Having been a wife of a former prisoner, I do understand how Rachel (Ruto’s wife), Mama Ngina (Uhuru’s mother) and radio presenter Sang’s wife and children and Mrs Muthaura are feeling,” she said.

Ati what? Ok maybe, but where's Uhuru's wife in that 'gator tear picture? Or was that a deliberate omission?

I think the title of the thread should read Ida throws herself in the mix...

[adongo23456]

Ida's statement and sentiments sound very real to me. I think she genuinely understands how these things boil down to the personal level after all the noise and brave faces and political brouhaha when folk go to sleep or at least try to when the reality stares you in the face. It is not a joke. It is obvious Ida Odinga has spoken from her heart. I like her genuineness.

The strange thing is that he sentiments are not very far from what many Kenyans wanted at the beginning of all these before Uhuru himself and Ruto mobilized their supporters to reject the STK plan which they claimed was a plot by their political enemies to "fix them".

Don't be "Vague Go the Hague" was their slogan of choice. They were boisterous and very loud after they defeated the STK bill despite a special Kamkunji meeting in which both president Kibaki and PM Raila Odinga begged the M.Ps to accept a local process to deal with the PEV. They said they have the numbers and they will do what they want. Well now the chicken has come home to roost.

I still remember being laughed out of town here in Jukwaa when I argued that not only should we accept the STK process but we should also harmonize it with the TJRC process so that those Kenyans who were ready and willing to accept responsibility for any actions they took during the PEV can be forgiven with specific penalties that may not include jail term.

I thought the ICC process was crazy. At that time I was worried about time ( which got solved when Mutula Kilonzo, Amos Wako, James Orengo and Miguna Miguna) signed a deal with Ocampo to the effect that if Kenya did nothing ICC would take over. I also genuinely thought that there is great value to be attached to national reconciliation. I was foolish and naive obviously.

Our politicians are eternal bullies and big mouths. I thought they would have the common sense to admit wrong doing and seek forgiveness. I thought they would want a genuine and serious TJRC. I was dead wrong. The bullies do not give a damn and that is how we ended up with the indictment that four Kenyans now face. This wasn't an event. It was a journey and some people who should have known better walked right into the mess thinking they were dissing everybody else.

Now here is the dilemma. There is not doubt that the ICC process and the dimension it has taken has shaken the forces of impunity to their roots. There is nowhere to turn. The prospects of sitting at the dock at The Hague with horrific evidence emerging of deadly criminal activities of the high and mighty is not going to be pretty. As it is impunity has suffered a big blow.

But there is one thing we have not done. The nation instead of approaching the PEV aftermath with a vision to healing and reconciliation has done the exact opposite and a lot of that has to do with the approach and tactics adopted by the suspects, specifically William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta.

The two started by approaching their dilemma of facing the ICC as an opportunity to spread farther tribal and ethnic hatred. They approached the situation as an opportunity to build tribal and ethnic alliances. They saw this as a chance to farther balkanise the country and use that as a tool to grab power.

The Kenyan mainstream media has been part and parcel of this conspiracy against the nation. The media and our many commentators have approached this as some kind of political genius by the suspects who are now indicted. In the process the victims became afterthoughts and eye sores that the media mentions once in a while. We as a country lost the grip on why we are where we are.

It has been reduced to what does this mean for Raila and his political prospects. What does this mean to Uhuru and Ruto and their own political prospects. Nobody in the mainstream media wants to know or bother with what this means to the nation and the country called Kenya. We see politicians like Kalonzo Muysoka running all over the country to shake hands with those indicted to promote their own political interests. To them the victims don't exist. The wounds caused by the PEV don't exist. All that matters is their own political future. That is the tragedy of what we see in the country.

Ida may have a deep sense of personal solidarity and anguish for the accused and their families but the political template we have in the nation has no room for that. Eventually we have no option but to deal with the hands we are dealt as a country.

my two cents. But Ida has started a very important debate. We should not trivialize it. And yes Titchaz should change the title. This is Ida's opinion not forced on her by the DN.

[stibin]

Ida has a point, but unfortunately courts of law exist to ensure justice is served and not to sympathize with suspects. Needless to say, it is not easy to forget and move on without assurance that somebody somewhere is accountable for the horror of the magnitude we saw.

And why do I think Ida’s plea is coming a little too late? As Adongo explained issues that took us to ICC remain very clear.

[job]

Small question. As Ida Odinga shares in the anguish that families of Uhuru, Ruto, Sang and Muthaura are undergoing, does she also share the anguish by orphans, widows, amputees, the traumatized, impoverished, displaced, and often shattered VICTIMS of PEV? Maybe she forgot to issue that statement.

Any anguish for the Kiambaa victims? any anguish for the Mombasa, Kakamega, Nakuru, Kibera, Kisumu, Naivasha victims?


I have no doubt when such victims read these sentiments from Ida, they immediately comprehend the strong inter-ethnic solidarity between the elite comprador burgeoisie that Oloo describes in the other thread. This affluent group is often fearful whenever they see a real impunity-chopping-axe facing one of their own, irrespective of ethnicity or political affiliation. They always suspect the axe might do a little more, probably head towards their direction.


Ida's belated idea of a local mechanism was overtaken by events back in 2009 as Adongo has described. It's too late. The ICC court knows that the local Judicial mechanism Githu Muigai is belatedly talking about is all but aimed at 'saving' the accused, nothing about Justice and restitution for the victims! They can similarly see through Kibaki's late-by-five-years 'promise' of finally resettling all IDPs.


She's entitled to her opinion but I doubt it helps in any way.

[topnotch]

Ida's is to send a message to the Ocampo 2. Uhuru and Ruto are right now desperate for any salvation from the jaws of ICC. Is someone trying to bait them into seeking out Raila? Of course we know ICC is irreversible, but do Uhuru and Ruto know as much? Any straw they can clutch onto will do, and Ida just gave them one such straw. Wil they clutch? It's getting quite interesting by the day.

[b6k]

Clutch straws? Which straws? I've just seen the duo donning Ruto caps (Kenya flag baseball caps) in Eldoret declaring the struggle continues. Uhuru thanked those who got him to resign for giving him more free time to campaign. Kalonzo was there as well & declared he can set his presidential aspirations aside so either of the 2 can go forward. Just another day in KE politics...

[adongo23456]

Jan 27, 2012 20:02:51 GMT 3 b6k said:

Clutch straws? Which straws? I've just seen the duo donning Ruto caps (Kenya flag baseball caps) in Eldoret declaring the struggle continues. Uhuru thanked those who got him to resign for giving him more free time to campaign. Kalonzo was there as well & declared he can set his presidential aspirations aside so either of the 2 can go forward. Just another day in KE politics...

Ida is talking about what these guys face at midnight when the cameras are gone and the kids are asleep and you have put down the hats.

It is painful my friend when the gimmicks are gone. When you see the aura of power and the helpleness you face with this faceless and merciless ICC process that just seems to go ON and ON it hurts to the bone.

Let's never forget that these folks face the possibility of spending the rest of their lives in jail. Political gimmicks can only take you so far. Ida knows. She has been there when people told her how brave her husband was and she went home in the middle of the darkness and woudl have wanted her partner back and forget about the bravery,

[akinyi2005]

Jan 27, 2012 20:02:51 GMT 3 b6k said:

Clutch straws? Which straws? I've just seen the duo donning Ruto caps (Kenya flag baseball caps) in Eldoret declaring the struggle continues. Uhuru thanked those who got him to resign for giving him more free time to campaign. Kalonzo was there as well & declared he can set his presidential aspirations aside so either of the 2 can go forward. Just another day in KE politics...

struggle for what? these clowns never cease to amaze.

[affirmed]

I believe Ida is sincere in expressing her feelings about the fate of the Ocampo4. It reminds her of what she went through during her husband's persecution by the state. She also talked about the suffering faced by the IDPs. I believe her. She is a mother and a wife who went through a lot of pain and suffering just as the mothers, spouses, and children of the IDPs, Ocampo4, and ofcourse of many bloggers here. Pain and internal turmoil is true of all human beings regardless of the causes and motivations. Her call for the establishment of a local tribunal is now mute because the very suspects rooted for the Hague route. There is no turning back. However, her statement is powerful both in substance and intent because the Hague issue will define the political landscape in the next weeks and months. Let me explain.

It is my respectful submission that ODM leadership has not handled the outcome of the verdict well. Raila's initial statement was perfect and lived true to expectation. They should have stopped there and avoided further party pronouncements. I think subsequent statements by Orengo, Midiwo, and Kingi etc were unneccessary, unfortunate and uncalled for! Uhuru and Muthaura were going to leave office anyway -- it was just a matter of time as private citizens, and other interested organisations were going to go to court to achieve the same end. Even DPM's position -- as Kilonzo has eloquently put it is just a matter of time. Why create the impression that reinforces the euphoric and unfounded notion being pedalled to the masses that your party and leader are rejoicing at the outcome. The only issue I think they should be assertive on is the appointment of Head of Public Service - that makes perfect sense. I saw Mudavadi backtracking from earlier positions taken by Orengo, Midiwo, Ababu, and Kingi on resignations from office. Ida's statement , I believe, is powerful because it both reflects her inner feeling and serves as a call for calm, sobriety, and compassion in the midst of confusion, anger, division, and hate. It will not stop the Hague process and it shouldn't, but it ought to help us see that as a nation we can do better.

[akinyi2005]

As some of us celebrate the recent developments we have to realize that the confirmation of charges has deeply saddened some families (ignore the bravado shown at the hate rallies, these chaps shed tears in the privacy of their homes)

I think Ida(my former teacher) made this statement in her capacity as the PM's wife. when lucy joins the snooze party ida must assume the role of mother of the nation- showing empathy to all.

[patriotism101]

Ida is out of line.

But first, when I saw “Breaking News” my heart skipped- Reminds me of my mum and the telegram- a story for another day. An observation, no mention of UK’s wife.

ICC was not imposed on Kenyans- this was a Kenyan solution to a Kenyan problem. The very same people who are currently sweating it out are the very same ones who said we should not be vague, lets go to hague. For Ida to come out now to say that they be tried in Kenya is dishonest. We know how the legal system works in Kenya- ask sonko.

Let me remind Ida that she needs to feel the pain of the Kenyan mothers whose children were killed, raped injured and whose properties were destroyed. This selective feeling of the pain for the “rich” mothers brings home the point that the Kenyan elite don’t really care about the Kerubos and the wanjikus of Kenya. It is naïve on her part and very disturbing that the future first lady can have such a myopic view on an issue that is both painful and traumatic to the Kenyan psyche.

Ida, please visit an IDP camp and prioritize your pain as a mother, the ICC boat has already sailed.

My sumuni.

[njamba]

where was she during all the this time?

[Mobimba]

Ida is simply reminding Kenyans that jail time is a very likely possibility for the ICC accused. In the same breath, she reminds you that there are other Kenyans (her husband) who went to jail for worthy patriotic causes… unlike the culprits facing trial today. It also makes sense to pull the rag from under the feet of the 'Blame Raila' comedic troupe... as the phase II hate rallies take off.

Outside of that, she is of course being disingenuous.

[abdulmote]

Mama Ida is subjective. Extremely subjective and widely partisan at that. Daktari Job nicely summarised it for us. That pain Ida stated is being felt by the suspects’ kins, is probably felt in a lot more larger quantities and measures by the victims of the PEV than by Ida’s acquaintances! In that respect Ida should try to balance out the pain of all those involved and not seek to appease only the elite suspects who certainly have a case to answer for their alleged reckless and cruel acts!

And as if that is not enough, is mama Ida suggesting that the Ocampo 4 will get better justice in Kenyan courts, or is it that if convicted, the Kenyan prisons would offer more comfort to the prisoners themselves and their families? Personally I don’t think the answer to these two questions can be realistically affirmative.

The Kenyan Justice system is yet to grow its first two 'milk' teeth and here we have the DCJ we so much had confidence in, facing a tribunal into her conduct. Kamiti, Manyani or Shimo la Tewa can hardly be compared with the Hague provided prisons' for any measure of the prisoners' comfort if there is to be any fairness upon its prisoners.

I think Mama Ida should say nothing about the ICC suspects if she has nothing to say at such a late stage of the trials.

[Onyango Oloo]

Of course Ida Odinga is WRONG on this one.

The Hague Four are presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty by the ICC process.

Kenyans including the government committed itself to the Hague process after botching up an opportunity to have a local tribunal.

Where are the tears and heart aches for the families of those who were killed, maimed, tortured, genitally disfigured?

Where are the tears for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Kenyans?

Please let us not play 2012 politics when Kenyans are demanding an end to impunity.

If I were Ida, I would have stayed out of this one.

Completely, that is.


Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

[adongo23456]

Jan 27, 2012 23:08:45 GMT 3 Onyango Oloo said:

Of course Ida Odinga is WRONG on this one.

The Hague Four are presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty by the ICC process.

Kenyans including the government committed itself to the Hague process after botching up an opportunity to have a local tribunal.

Where are the tears and heart aches for the families of those who were killed, maimed, tortured, genitally disfigured?

Where are the tears for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Kenyans?

Please let us not play 2012 politics when Kenyans are demanding an end to impunity.

If I were Ida, I would have stayed out of this one.

Completely, that is.


Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

Oloo,

My perception is that Ida is as genuine as she is misguided. I wouldn't call it playing politics. Of course she made a mistake forgetting the victims.

But people can accuse Ida of many things but she doesn't come across as one of these people for whom politics is everything in life. She appears to me to be one of those people who understand that there is life after politics. That is healthy for her.

There are people who invested heavily, emotionally, intellectually and even politically in the Hague process.

I told folks to be ready to accept anything. I was ready to accept a 6-0 ruling in favour of the suspects if that is what the judges came up with. That is because at some point people must live with things as they are rather than as we wish them to be.

There are people today in a state of literal psychosis because of the ICC verdicts. Some are still in denial including the indicted. Part of that is because folks sometimes refuse to accept to deal with things as they are which can be very unexpected. Those who only know the beaten path are often very poorly prepared for new grounds and new realities.

My view is that Ida is being very genuine and she has spoken from her heart and real feelinsg for folks like Mama Ngina etc. Unfortunately Ida is urging Kenyans to lock the barn years after the wild horses took off.

Ida of course also needs to put herself in the shoes of the little helpless kids who watched their parents being cut up to pieces before they were themselves set a blaze. Nothing in this world prepares you for anything like that.

[mzee]

Ida Odinga is part and parcel of the Kenyan elite and has no ability to understand the Wanjiku. We sometimes wrongfully believe that people such as Raila, Uhuru and Ruto are sworn enemies who have nothing in common. We are of course dead wrong because these people are often friends in private and also have family ties. In their spare time they party and feast together while their supporters hate on each other.

It’s therefore not strange that Ida Odinga identifies and feels the pain of the Ocampo 4 and nothing at all for the IDPs. Ida has just exposed the selfishness and double standards of the Kenya elite. To expect her to stay away from commenting on the ICC and especially not to support the murderous elite is a wishful thinking.

She is doing exactly what a person in her position and station is expected to do. In other words she is not pretending at all. She is talking from her heart. Her comments are no doubt silly if not reckless.

[moesha]

Jan 28, 2012 1:43:12 GMT 3 mzee said:

Ida Odinga is part and parcel of the Kenyan elite and has no ability to understand the Wanjiku. We sometimes wrongfully believe that people such as Raila, Uhuru and Uhuru are sworn enemies who have nothing in common. We are of course dead wrong because these people are often friends in private and also have family ties. In their spare time they party and feast together while their supporters hate on each other.

It’s therefore not strange that Ida Odinga identifies and feels the pain of the Ocampo 4 and nothing at all for the IDPs. Ida has just exposed the selfishness and double standards of the Kenya elite. To expect her to stay away from commenting on the ICC and especially not to support the murderous elite is a wishful thinking.

She is doing exactly what a person in her position and station is expected do. In other words she is not pretending at all. She is talking from her heart. He comments are no doubt silly if not reckless.

Mzee

What do you mean she is talking from her heart? Is there no place in her heart for the PEV victims? And why now, its been almost 4 years since Ocampo came calling?

I think this is extremely reckless on her part and I dont buy the notion that the PM wasnt aware of what Ida was going to say. This was well calculated and timed.

I am fed up of all these people. I would have understood if she included the pain suffered by PEV victims in her statement, after all this is about justice for them.

[mzee]

moesha,
She is talking from her her heart because her heart only hurts for the Ocampo six and not the victims of the PEV. Had she said that she is hurting for the PEV victims, she would be lying.

[mank]

....Mrs Odinga was quick to clarify that she had yet to consult her husband , Prime Minister Raila Odinga, on the matter and was only expressing her opinion as a mother and a wife to a former political prisoner....

Politics is a game of minds. The player who can anticipate, or even better, influence the moves of the other player(s), is a better player. All players are for ever making their efforts to be the better players in this game. Its a game.

[nowayhaha]

Jan 27, 2012 17:25:36 GMT 3 Titchaz said:

Posted Friday, January 27 2012 at 17:22

IDA ODINGA calls mechanism for local trial of 4 Kenyan suspects charged at ICC. Says speaking as a mother and has not consulted PM, her husband.

ICC Pre-trial judges on Monday confirmed charges against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, Eldoret North MP William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang.

Mrs Odinga was quick to clarify that she had yet to consult her husband , Prime Minister Raila Odinga, on the matter and was only expressing her opinion as a mother and a wife to a former political prisoner.

“ These are people we have lived with and are like my brothers. These are people known to me personally…. Its better this case be handled in Kenya,” said Ida.

Mrs Odinga said she shares the anguish that the families and the children of the four accused are currently going through.

"Having been a wife of a former prisoner I understand how Rachel (Ruto’s wife), Mama Ngina (Uhuru’s mother) and radio presenter Sang’s wife and children and Mrs Muthaura’s are feeling.

“ My own mother in-law succumbed to depression when his son who is now my husband Raila Odinga was in prison. I understand how the families are feeling. I can tell you its not a good feeling,” said Ida.

She said there was need for a quick closure for all prosecutions related to the 2007 - 2008 post-election violence.

Mrs Odinga noted that the problems facing the country at this moment can be surmounted by Kenyans themselves.

She also called for a speedy resettlement of all IDPs.

www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1315130/-/8s692i/-/index.html

What Ida is saying is the plain truth this thing was is and will always be political. Look how many times she has mentioned politics and terms related to politics referring to immediate family members who were subjected to political trials and prosecutions and how they tormented them .

[Omwenga]

Jan 27, 2012 23:08:45 GMT 3 Onyango Oloo said:

Of course Ida Odinga is WRONG on this one.

The Hague Four are presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty by the ICC process.

Kenyans including the government committed itself to the Hague process after botching up an opportunity to have a local tribunal.

Where are the tears and heart aches for the families of those who were killed, maimed, tortured, genitally disfigured?

Where are the tears for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Kenyans?

Please let us not play 2012 politics when Kenyans are demanding an end to impunity.

If I were Ida, I would have stayed out of this one.

Completely, that is.


Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

Oloo,,

I am not sure whether you mean Mama Ida is wrong for speaking out or wrong in her position that the ICC cases should be brought back home for prosecution.

Let me assume both in which case I would say her speaking out one way or the other is quite appropriate.

As she clearly stated, she is speaking as a mother and was emphatic in making sure people know it has nothing to do with politics for she says she did not consult with the PM on this.

That's fine.

Now, as to whether or not these cases should be returned home, this is a debate that may be had at some point, or one would hope so and on that, I agree with her.

This is one of those cases where taking either position cannot be deemed to be right or wrong but; both positions could be right!

An analogy would be what flavor of ice-cream one should have, given only two choices.

It cannot be said picking one flavor or the other is right or wrong but if the question is whether to have a bucketful of ice-cream on a daily basis, there is clearly a right or wrong answer.

ICC is the ice-cream in the bucket ready to be had, the question is what flavor do people prefer of the only two available.

Mama Ida prefers one flavor, Ocampo prefers the other.

Neither changes the fact that ice-cream must be had.

I have been arguing for a long time that the ICC cases must in the end be brought back home for the following reasons first raised in Who Is William Ruto Part V, omwenga.com/2011/04/07/who-is-william-ruto-part-v/

In a nutshell, I have been arguing that given the higher standard for conviction at the ICC for crimes against humanity, these suspects could be convicted for the lesser standard of "normal" crimes such as murder, rape, or accessories to both under the Penal Code.

I have also argued that the law should allow for civil penalty in the event any of the suspects are not convicted under the Penal Code and further noted they'll all be happy to pay civil penalty in get this matter behind us all.

In Kibaki and His Futile Efforts to Defer ICC Prosecution of Ruto and Company posted almost a year ago, omwenga.com/2011/03/16/kibaki-and-his-futile-efforts-to-defer-icc-prosecution-of-ruto-company/, I said the following.

The sensible approach to address post-election violence has to be faithfulness to, or at least the absence of efforts to frustrate implementation of the new constitution and when that is done or at least when there is an appearance it is being done, then ICC can be persuaded to allow the establishment of a local tribunal to try these suspects who should be acquitted either at the Hague or in Kenya unless they in fact committed criminal offenses.

The irony is only Raila can save this bunch from going to the Hague by joining Kibaki in the quest for deferral and having a local tribunal set up to look into this but I don’t believe he could do so unless he is satisfied the culprits are not engaged in efforts to prevent or frustrate implementation of the new constitution and that there is actual judicial reform unstoppably taking place.

I still maintain this position and thus the reason I agree with Mama Ida in her position, even though hers is coming from a mother's perspective.

[Omwenga]

Jan 27, 2012 23:44:15 GMT 3 adongo23456 said:

Jan 27, 2012 23:08:45 GMT 3 Onyango Oloo said:

My perception is that Ida is as genuine as she is misguided. I wouldn't call it playing politics. Of course she made a mistake forgetting the victims.

But people can accuse Ida of many things but she doesn't come across as one of these people for whom politics is everything in life. She appears to me to be one of those people who understand that there is life after politics. That is healthy for her.

Completely agree, except to note maybe she did mention the victims but that was missed by the reporter.