There are many positive conclusions to draw from the fact that six prominent Kenyans will face charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) from their roles in fomenting violence during the country’s post election crisis in 2007-2008. Accountability has been all too rare in these sorts of circumstances across the continent, which his given men like these impunity and has re-enforced a culture of elite political non-accountability.
One hopes that these actions will pave the way for truly free elections in 2012. But it also runs the risk of inflaming tensions if the trials are not run well or appear at all politicized. The fact that the “Ocampo Six” are drawn from both sides of the fray help. The Kenyan government hoped the trials might be delayed (likely indefinitely) so in some ways their being rebuffed after circling the wagons might actually be a good sign for democratic processes. But the government has already declared that it will challenge the ICC’s very legitimacy to press these charges, which could very much roil the waters.
