There are more calls for Kenya’s coalition government to implement the Waki Commission recommendations. The commission was set up to look into the causes of the violence that followed Kenya’s 2007 election. Among its recommendations released last month, is that a tribunal be set up to try the perpetrators of such violence.
The European Union is the latest international body to call for a quick action on the commission’s recommendations. The EU has threatened economic sanctions if the Commission report is not implemented.
Peter Anyang Nyongo was the secretary general of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement party during the 2007 election. He is now the minister responsible for medical services in the coalition government.
From Washington where he is attending a conference of pharmaceutical companies, Nyongo told VOA the Waki Commission report is a well-written report.
“One important thing in that report is that it says that the people mentioned in that report are allegations, and the tribunal should be set up to investigate these allegations and therefore establish their truth. So the most important thing really is to proceed and establish the tribunal so that they can investigate these allegations further because Waki and his team did not have time to investigate everybody who was mentioned as having being involved,” he said.
The European Union, the largest donor group for Kenya, has reportedly said that implementation of the Waki Commission report was a non-negotiable condition that must be met before Kenya accesses any grant.
Nyongo said he believes the Kenyan parliament would act to implement the commission’s report.
"I think that kind of statement merely underscores the importance of living up to the promise of looking into the post-election violence and dealing with the perpetrators. So my conviction is that once the report comes to the cabinet which should be next week and then the cabinet puts its recommendations to the national assembly, it would be time then for parliament then to establish the modus operandi of the tribunal which that report recommends,” Nyongo said.
It had been suggested that political leaders from the affected areas were responsible for fanning the post-election violence.
Nyongo said there is no indication that some lawmakers might be trying to delay implementing the Waki Commission’s recommendation for fear they too might be brought the proposed tribunal.
“I think the concern is to make sure that the tribunal should make sure that it does its job impartially in accordance with the rule of law. And I think the concern being expressed is that people should not take the mere allegations to be a conviction of those who have been mentioned directly or infer by the report. And I think what people have been worrying about is the so-called envelope that apparently put together by Wako and that this envelope contains the names of their perpetrators,” he said.
Nyongo said there is a fear that this could lead to tarnishing innocent people’s names. He also said he does not believe that carrying out the Waki Commission’s recommendations could threaten Kenya’s coalition government.