The Hague - The suspects behind the violence in Kenya's 2007 presidential elections should be prosecuted, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Thursday. Speaking at a press conference at The Hague-based court, Moreno Ocampo said he had requested the court's permission to conduct an investigation into the events that claimed more than 1,500 lives and displaced 300,000 people.
The violence erupted after supporters of current Prime Minister Raila Odinga claimed he had been cheated out of victory in the December 2007 presidential poll against incumbent President Mwai Kibaki.
Without naming names, Moreno-Ocampo said he want to prosecute "at least one and a maximum five" people who allegedly played a key role in the violence. Formal permission from the investigation chamber is required before an inquiry can be launched.
"This is only the beginning of a long road to justice in Kenya," the Argentinian-born prosecutor said.
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the prosecution's request to open an investigation a "decisive step towards justice."
"Kenya's leaders should provide full cooperation if the ICC opens an investigation," Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director said in a statement.
It remains unclear when the judges will issue a decision on Moreno Ocampo's request. If granted, it will mark a new phase in the ICC's investigations into the events in Kenya.
On July 16, Kenya transferred to the ICC prosecutor six boxes of evidence compiled by the international Waki Commission of Inquiry, which investigated the violence in 2008.
The transfer of the boxes, the result of an agreement between Kenya and the ICC prosecutors, was intended to assist Moreno-Ocampo in his preliminary investigation.
At the press conference, Moreno-Ocampo emphasized that lower ranking suspects ought to be tried locally by Kenyan courts.
HRW director Gagnon also said "the promise to prosecute those responsible is central to the reform and accountability agenda agreed upon by the coalition government."
"Kenya's leaders still have a chance to make good on that promise by ensuring that any ICC investigation is complemented by credible national trials."
Whether that will ever happen, remains unclear. Earlier this summer, the Kenyan government blocked the establishment of a special local tribunal to prosecute suspects, and in the years since the violence took place, no suspects have been arrested.
The ICC, an independent, permanent court founded in 1998 and working in cooperation with the United Nations, aims to prosecute the most serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Since it began operating in 2002, it has investigated war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Sudan's western Darfur region.
Thursday's move is the first time the ICC prosecutor has requested permission to initiate an investigation. Three of the ICC's four investigations resulted from voluntary referrals by states, while the UN Security Council referred the fourth case.
