Nairobi/The Hague - Former UN general secretary Kofi Annan provided to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague a list of names of suspects thought to be behind the bloody rioting after the Kenya's 2007 presidential elections, it was reported Thursday. Annan, who handed the list to chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, said he decided to take this step after efforts in Kenya to set up a tribunal to investigate the political violence continued to meet delays.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," Annan was quoted by the BBC as saying.
A coalition government in Kenya was formed in early 2008 after a deal brokered by Kofi Annan brought to an end ethnic violence that saw over 1,500 killed and 300,000 displaced.
The fighting broke out after supporters of current Prime Minister Raila Odinga claimed he had been cheated out of victory in the December 2007 presidential elections against President Mwai Kibaki.
However, the two parties have been on increasingly bad terms, clashing over many issues.
Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan hinted in February he would send the names of politicians and businessmen accused of orchestrating Kenya's post-election violence to The Hague if attempts to set up a local tribunal failed.
Justice Philip Waki, who headed a probe into the violence, had initially given Kenya until March 1 to create a local tribunal. When Kenyan MPs failed to pass the necessary bill, Waki handed over a sealed envelope containing the names of accused, which is purported to include senior ministers, to Annan.
The understanding was that Annan would hand it over to the ICC should Kenya not meet the deadline.
Annan had warned that justice must be done in order to avoid a repeat of the violence at the next elections in 2012.
