Following the
presidential election in late December 2007 and the Kenya Electoral Commission’s
hurried declaration of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki as the winner, supporters
of opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the Orange Democratic
Movement alleged widespread electoral fraud and irregularities. For nearly two
months following that election, ethnic violence and strife in Kenya raged
resulting in more than 1200 deaths, 3,500 injuries, and the displacement of over
350,000 persons and destruction of over 100,000 properties. In March 2011, Uhuru
Kenyatta was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on various
counts of crimes against humanity arising from the post-election violence.
The details of the ICC
charges against Kenyatta and other defendants are set forth in exhaustive detail
in a 10-count indictment. Kenyatta allegedly
conspired, planned, financed, and coordinated violence against the supporters of
Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. He allegedly “controlled the Mungiki
organization” and directed the commission of murders, deportations, rapes,
persecutions, and other inhumane acts against civilians in the towns of Kibera,
Kisumu, Naivasha, and Nakuru. Kenyatta’s trial is scheduled to start at The
Hague on July 9. Kenyatta's election
running mate and vice president-elect William Ruto as well as other top Kenyan
officials are part of different ICC cases. Ruto’s trial has been
postponed to May 28.
Kenyatta and Ruto are
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Kenyatta's
lawyer Steven Kay claimed the ICC charges were “determined on false evidence,
evidence that was concealed from the defense and the facts underlying the
charges have been put utterly and fully in doubt.”
U.S. efforts to ensure
free and fair elections in Kenya after 2008
The U.S. was among the
first nations to recognize the validity of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election.
At the time, U.S. State Department Spokesman Robert McInturff announced, “The
United States congratulates the winners and is calling for calm, and
for Kenyans to abide by the results declared by the election
commission. We support the commission’s decision.” But
U.S. validation of that election was completely unwarranted since there was
substantial credible evidence of rampant electoral fraud and vote rigging in
favor of Kibaki and considerable doubt about the neutrality and integrity of the
Kenya Electoral Commission.
Over the past two years,
the U.S. has made significant investments to promote free and fair elections in
Kenya and prevent a repetition of the 2007 violence. According to
the U.S. State Department, “since 2010, the U.S.
Government has contributed more than $35 million to support electoral reform,
civic education, and elections preparation in Kenya. In addition, since 2008, we
have provided more than $90 million to support constitutional reform, conflict
mitigation, civil society strengthening, and youth leadership and empowerment,
all of which contribute significantly to the goal of free, fair, and peaceful
elections in Kenya.”
Obama’s defining moment
in Africa?
The March 2013
presidential election in which Kenyatta won by a razor thin margin of 50.7
percent is not entirely free of controversy. Raila Odinga, who received about 43
percent of the votes, has rejected the outcome of the election and filed action
in court alleging collusion between the Kenyatta and the electoral commission,
not unlike what happened in 2007. This time around, U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry offered only half-hearted congratulations and assurances to the people of
Kenya and applauded the fortitude of those who counted the ballots. But his
congratulatory statement belied an apparent disappointment as manifested in his
omission of the names of the election victors. “On behalf of the United States
of America, I want to congratulate the people of Kenya for voting peacefully on
March 4 and all those elected to office… I am inspired by the
overwhelming desire of Kenyans to peacefully make their voices heard… We ...
will continue to be a strong friend and ally of the Kenyan people.”
Prior to the election, it
seemed President Obama and his top African policy man Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson were playing a bit of the old “good
cop, bad cop” routine. President Obama in a special
video message to the people of Kenya said that though he is
proud of his Kenyan heritage “the choice of who will lead Kenya is up to the
Kenyan people. The United States does not endorse any candidate for office…” He
assured Kenyans that they “will continue to have a strong friend and partner in
the United States of America.” But Johnnie Carson who was also a former U.S.
ambassador to Kenya, was more blunt in hinting to Kenyans that their “choices
have consequences”. Carson hectored Kenyans that they “should be thoughtful
about those they choose to be leaders, the impact their choices would have on
their country, region or global community.” Does that mean electing ICC suspects
in crimes against humanity could bring about crippling sanctions?
What is good for the
goose is good for the gander?
Now that Kenyatta and
Ruto are elected, will the U.S. do what it did with Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan,
another notorious suspect indicted by the ICC? Or will Kenyatta and his
government receive special dispensation from sanctions and other penalties?
Carson argued that Kenya
and the Sudan are two different situations.
