This article is part of a debate organized by Oxford Transitional Justice Research (OTJR) in collaboration with Moi University (Eldoret) and Pambazuka News. A selection of essays based on this debate will be published in an edited volume by Fahamu Books. For PDF documents of the debate please go to www.csls.ox.ac.uk/otjr.php. Continue reading →

Read the rest of Debate – The politics of violence and accountability in Kenya »

From the standpoint of constitutional law, the handing over of the Waki envelope to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) represents the ceding of judicial autonomy of the state to an ‘exceptional court’. The establishment of a domestic special tribunal which supplants the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court and strips the president and attorney general of constitutional powers and immunities has a similar effect. Continue reading →

Read the rest of Leashing Kenya’s Dogs of War: A Theoretical Assessment »

At the conclusion of its Summit in Sirte, Libya, on July 1, 2009, the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union (AU) decided that “AU Member States shall not cooperate … in the arrest and surrender of President Omar El Bashir of The Sudan.” In a press release issued two weeks later, on July 14, the organisation explained that this decision “bears testimony to the glaring reality that the situation in Darfur is too serious and complex an issue to be resolved without recourse to an harmonised approach to justice and peace, neither of which should be pursued at the expense of the other.” Continue reading →

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Kenyans are very suspicious of the rare unity between the Cabinet and the Parliament as they jointly dismiss calls for the prosecution of the perpetrators of post-election violence atrocities. This unscrupulous behaviour is not coincidental, but a well crafted strategy: the Cabinet and Parliament are distorting facts on the requirements for a local tribunal, in order to escape accountability. Politicians are satisfied that they are now sharing the spoils and that it is business as usual. They prefer to push the issues that contributed to the crisis under the carpet in order to focus on efforts to capture power in 2012. While we commend the Kenyan government for renewing efforts to enact the Special Tribunal to try those responsible for the 2007 election violence, we believe that nothing short of momentous symbolic shock therapy to the political elite would incentivize formation of an effective, independent and impartial Tribunal locally. Here, we believe the International Criminal Court (ICC) continues to have a major role. Continue reading →

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Judges deal in fear, pain and death. However exercised, judicial power has a tremendous impact on the socio-economic, political and cultural systems of a nation. Kenyan masses remain alienated not merely by the foreign language and condescending demeanor of courtrooms but also the centralization of justice. Consequently, we must ask: is the quality of justice determined by the performance of an incumbent occupant of a judicial position? If so, who should appoint judges? What is to be done when the actions of a politically partisan Chief Justice cow an entire judiciary to bow to executive whims? Continue reading →

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Last Tuesday 12 March, in Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, an elected President resigned under pressure from the opposition with the support of the armed forces, and a young pretender Andry Rajoelina succeeded him. Which ever way you look at it, it

Read the rest of Are Coups d'Etat Making a Comeback? »

I live in a West African city where dark wraparound sunglasses have become very expensive, if you can find them at all. That is because young men are copying the major style statement of their new head of state. His

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Ghana’s extraordinary election last December was not just about Ghana. Two decades after the return of multi party democracy to Africa – in some cases its arrival – first-past-the-post, winner takes all electoral democracy is in trouble in Africa. African states suffer all the usual disadvantages of electoral democracy; the sheer expense of elections, the temptation for governments to let loose the purse strings as they come up for re-election and the lack of continuity and experience among suddenly-appointed ministers. Continue reading →

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