Ocampo Should Hand Over His Case Files to Newly Minted DPP

24 June 2011

editorial

Nairobi — Since Mr Keriako Tobiko took the oath of office as Director of Public Prosecutions this week, crooks, miscreants, felons and other undesirables have not slept a wink.

Yet, none has been more wakeful than 20 members of Parliament either already facing charges or being investigated for fraud, drug trafficking and hate speech.

It is these 20 who were loudest in their protestations against Mr Tobiko’s appointment as dee-pee-pee.

They opposed him in Parliament, and they will fight him outside it in a desperate attempt to frustrate his work.

They might even attempt to stop him from starting his work.

Fortunately, removing a dee-pee-pee before his eight years in office elapse is not as easy as changing a diaper.

Without a chance of becoming bankrupt, seeing that Mr Tobiko has been such a good husband of whatever resources he has got so far, he cannot be removed from office on that ground.

With his former boss, Attorney General Amos Wako, speaking in glowing terms about Mr Tobiko’s competence, those who challenge him on that alone stand no chance.

With Mr Tobiko being a man of such probity, there is no opening to dismiss him for misconduct or misbehaviour.

And as he is a man in perfect physical condition, there is no chance he could be removed from office on account of his inability to perform the functions of his duties because of mental or physical incapacity.

The last ditch effort would have to be suggesting that he has failed to comply with Chapter Six of the Constitution, on leadership and integrity. But Kenya’s dee-pee-pee is Mr Chapter Six.

That is why those who previously wanted to fight extradition to foreign lands would rather face justice abroad than be prosecuted by the dee-pee-pee.

Such is the fear Mr Tobiko’s appointment has struck in many hearts that people with a suspicious past have been collecting visa stamps in readiness to join the Diaspora until his tenure ends in 2019.

Since Mr Tobiko is not interested in revenge, he will most likely forgive those who accused him — without grounds — of seeking bribes, incompetence, political partisanship and ethical breaches.

His zeal in pursuing justice had been temporarily blunted by Mr Wako’s strategy to smile at every problem until it went away, but now Mr Tobiko has come into his own with the power to prosecute public persecutors.

The cases on the Anglo-Leasing and Finance scandals will be concluded with dispatch if only to demonstrate that Mr Tobiko, having acted for some of the people on trial, means nothing.

After all, since he is not seeking re-appointment at the end of his eight-year term, and would not have any interest in joining the Supreme Court, his interest in these matters is only cursory, professional and distant.

It is not fair to require that he removes himself from all cases where he has a likely conflict of interest. That is not a fair to his job, which he got by dint of widespread public support.

In it is that overwhelming public support that is giving pause to those who have been indicted in connection with charges of rape, murder, persecution and torture arising from the post-election violence.

They would rather endure the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr Louis Moreno Ocampo, than be processed by Mr Tobiko.

Mr Tobiko has no appetite for politics, before a professional and all that. That is why he will act without fear or favour – as his oath says – to put criminal politicians in jail and deny them a chance to lord it over Kenya.

After suffocating under the armpits of the Attorney General all these years, Mr Tobiko is raring to go. His interest in the 3,386 inquest files arising from the post-election violence could blow up big reputations like that of appellate judge Philip Waki whose report said 1,133 people died during the crisis. After all, it is not possible for the police to start an inquest if there has been no death.

It is not unlikely to make Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s investigations look like a bunch of rumours. Who knows, perhaps the judges at the ICC might even like Mr Tobiko’s accent and dress code better than they do Mr Moreno-Ocampo, who seems to irritate them even before he speaks.

If they had a choice in the matter, they would pick the cleverer prosecutor to continue with the case.

This is precisely where Kenyans should exact their revenge on the Ocampo Six by insisting that the post-election violence suspected masterminds should not be allowed to choose their prosecutor.

They should hold demonstrations demanding that Mr Moreno-Ocampo should hand over the post-election violence case files to Mr Tobiko for speedy prosecution in Kenyan courts, from whence justice will flow like a mighty stream.

AllAfrica – All the Time