National Council of Churches of Kenya

ICC Ruling: A Call for peace

We the National Council Churches of Kenya send a message calling for peace to all Kenyans in light of the ruling delivered by the International Criminal Court this afternoon. We call for sobriety and restraint as Kenyans engage in discussions and interpretations of the decision and its ramifications.

This ruling should not be seen in any way as an indictment on any community or individual but a process in search of justice for the victims and suspects of the post election violence. We ask all Kenyans to remain engaged in prayer for our Country for peace and reconciliation especially in view of the forthcoming elections.

We thank the ICC and the suspects for the peaceful conduct during the pretrial hearings and affirm their call for peace in the period after the judgment. Further, we urge Kenyans to shun incitement, hate speech and violence during this period and during the trial of the suspects whose charges have been confirmed.

It will be remembered that in 2009 the NCCK sent a petition to the ICC calling on it to initiate investigations on the 2007/2008 post election violence. This followed the failure by the government to institute a local justice process which is still necessary for us as a nation to bring the violence matter to a closure.

It is worth noting that the Court has confirmed the view of many Kenyans that indeed crimes against humanity were committed on the Kenyan soil.

NCCK appreciates that the pre trial Chamber did not assign guilt or innocence to any of the suspects. But we affirm the significance of the process in breaking impunity in Kenya and getting the country off to a fresh start.

We now call for expediency in the conduct of the trial in view of the tensions which characterize this process.

May God Bless Kenya!

Signed at Jumuia Place, Nairobi on this 23^rd day of January, 2012

Rev Canon Peter Karanja

General Secretary