A breakthrough in justice? Accountability for post-election violence in Kenya

The International Criminal Court (ICC) provides
the most promising, and potentially only, venue
for accountability for those most responsible for
serious post-election violence in Kenya.
• International scrutiny, specifically the involvement
of Kofi Annan and diplomatic pressure, sought
to promote a resolution to violence and gave
weight to the recommendations of a domestic
commission of inquiry, but were unable to ensure
domestic or hybrid accountability proceedings.
• The ICC is expected by many in Kenya and
beyond to pursue positive complementarity—
that is, to have a significant impact on domestic
accountability and the fight against impunity in
the country.
• The approval of the investigation into the situation
in Kenya turned on a determination that crimes
likely to be tried were not being investigated or
tried in Kenya, and that they were of sufficient
gravity to merit ICC scrutiny.
• It will be difficult to ensure that ICC proceedings
are accessible to the population, but potential for
impact of the trials in Kenya depends on this.
• Both case selection and the approach to
timing and publicity of arrest warrants are
sensitive politically.
• Though the new Kenyan constitution, approved
in a referendum in August 2010, might help
prevent political violence in the future, serious and
sustained efforts will be required to avoid tragic
scenarios around the 2012 elections and beyond.

Citation:
Sriram, C.L. and Brown, S. (2010) ‘A breakthrough in justice? Accountability for post-election violence in Kenya’ Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, Policy Paper No.4, August 2010.