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Kenya parliament rejects bills establishing election tribunal

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Kenyan Parliament rejected Thursday two bills that would have established a special national tribunal to deal with cases stemming from the December 2007 post-election violence. The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2009 and the Special Tribunal for Kenya Bill, 2009 were rejected by a vote of 101-93, with 145 votes needed to pass. The situation is complicated because the Commission of Inquiry on Post Election Violence (CIPEV), or Waki Commission, set a March 1 deadline for establishment of the courts. If this deadline is not met, a sealed enveloped containing the names of ten high ranking government officials accused of orchestrating the post-election violence will be given to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Voting on the bills was postponed following allegations that government officials tried to bribe or blackmail MPs into voting for the bill. More than 1,000 people were killed and 500,000 displaced by violence following allegations of fraud in the country's presidential election. The defeated bills were proposed by CIPEV in October 2008 after Kibaki and opposition candidate Raila Odinga approved a power-sharing agreement in March 2008.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).