Kenya's post-election crisis mediator Kofi Annan said on Thursday he had handed a sealed envelope with the names of top suspects for the violence to the International Criminal Court's prosecutor. The move heightens pressure on Kenya's shaky coalition government to quickly establish a local court or face international justice for the worst bloodletting in the east African nation's post-independence history.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," Annan said. Punishing culprits is a crucial step to ensuring stability in the nation of 35 million that is the region's economic powerhouse and faces its next poll in 2012, analysts say. "The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy," Annan added in his statement.
Kenya's government confirmed that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had received formal confirmation from Annan that he had handed over the envelope to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
"The transmission of documents by Mr Kofi Annan forms part of these collaborative efforts to ensure that justice is not delayed and that future crimes can be prevented," Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement. His list of at least 10 alleged masterminds of the violence - in which at least 1,300 people died and 300,000 were uprooted - names prominent politicians and businessmen, probably including two ministers, local political sources say.
Two months of violence exploded after the December 27, 2007 vote, following a campaign in which politicians openly whipped up supporters along tribal lines, and gangs stocked weapons in anticipation of fighting to come.Then opposition leader Odinga accused Kibaki of stealing the vote. With gangs facing off with crude weapons, and security forces opening fire on the streets, Annan brokered a pact that eventually ended the violence and made Odinga prime minister.
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