Let’s not forget the IDPs despite Hague ruling

The International Criminal Court at The Hague has now confirmed charges against four of the six Kenyans who had been accused of bearing responsibility for the post-election mayhem that left more than 1,000 dead, displaced hundreds of thousands and led to destruction of property worth billions of shillings.

The confirmation is a warning to our political elite that the international law is real. Anybody who has been to the tents that house the internally displaced persons knows the magnitude of the social and economic damage that befell the victims.

That should never go unpunished.

The women, the children and the desperate fathers who have for the last four years been waiting for justice must inform our feelings as a nation.

While the four charged remain innocent for the moment, we must learn lessons from the ICC cases.

The first lesson is that ethnic-based politics has no place in our nation. Secondly, never again will any politician instigate chaos against another group on account of their affiliation to an opposing political organisation.

And third, we must say no to political intolerance. While the ICC ruling will have ramifications in our political landscape, the winners will remain the victims of the chaos.

The government claims that it can handle the cases locally, but so far no one has been held responsible for the chaos.

ICC is a mirror to our nation. It is an indictment to our nation. It shows us that there is evidence out there if we care to look for it.

The political elite thinks that by targeting individuals and bringing them to court, we shall be rocking the boat and that the nation-state can sink. We dont think so.

As a lesson to politicians, activists, and peddlers of hate, we think that time has come for this nation to do away with merchants of negative ethnicity. For many years, we have promoted impunity and encouraged forces of hate to reign and take leadership. That is how nations end up with demi-gods and dictators.

In the midst of all these, and for the last four years, we have forgotten the victims of the chaos. We think that going forward, the commitment of the government to justice will be measured by how we resolve the IDPs question and how it handles the ICC cases.

For whatever the outcome of the ICC cases, we will have to get a solutions to the thousands who were displaced. We cannot shy away from that.