This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
Report Reveals Why Kenya ICC Cases Were Bungled ¶
Published on November 27, 2019, a new report by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda reveals that poor leadership, decision-making, and staffing skills at the International Criminal Court led to the collapse of the case against Kenyan suspects charged in The Hague over the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
The report, which followed the release of an earlier confidential report by a team of experts, noted that the ICC was unable to give adequate and timely response to challenges facing the case against powerful political figures at the time, which influenced the overall outcome.
According to the report, the expert team, which included Sierra Leone's Residual Mechanism for the Special Court Prosecutor Brenda J. Hollis, found that the outcome of the Kenya cases might simply have been a reflection of the inability of the ICC to respond adequately to the challenges presented by cases against powerful, high-level accused.
The report also faulted the leadership style of former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, stating that it discouraged candid, contrary assessments and viewpoints to the detriment of the cases.
Decision-making was also mentioned as another issue that 'worked to the detriment of Kenyan cases,' as it was micro-managed, with decision-making concentrated at the first Prosecutor and his Executive Committee.
Moreover, the report stated that Ocampo disregarded the fact that prosecutorial action, based on law and facts, was the only way of enabling collateral consequences such as peace in Kenya as well as the relevance of ICC.
The report also highlighted the lack of relevant skills among majority of employees in the OTP, which made it mission impossible in dealing with rigorous investigations processes regarding Kenyan cases at the ICC.
Disrespect to the OTP office structure during the Kenyan ICC cases was also among issues highlighted by the report, where Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division (JCCD) seemed to exceed its mandate, which apparently upset a section of the workforce.
Ms Bensouda was however quick to point out that JCCD issue had been resolved, saying 'It should be noted that whatever role JCCD may have played back then, its leadership and work practices have since been significantly changed. It functions very differently and successfully today.'
