www.Kisii.Com: Syndicated news from only reputable sources [Nation, and Standard Newspapers, Kenya Times, KBC, etc.]

Tension at Borabu-Sotik border ahead of ICC ruling

Details

Published on Saturday, 14 January 2012 12:02

ANXIETY has gripped the Borabu-Sotik border ahead of the much awaited ICC ruling on the Ocampo Six. The border was hard hit by the violence which gripped the nation after the disputed 2007 elections.

Locals are anxiously awaiting the outcome with some fearing a recurrence of the violence if the charges against the six suspects are confirmed. “If not well managed, the ICC process may lead to violence again. I don’t think the government has done enough to prepare Kenyans for the eventual outcome of the ICC,” said James Matagaro, a resident of Chepilat, a border town that was flattened during the violence. John Korir, a resident of the same town however hoped for a fair outcome. “I don’t want to be drawn into how the judges will rule but I pray for a fair ruling,” he said.

Borabu Knut secretary John Matiang’i accused the National Cohesion and Integration Commission of doing little to prepare people at the border for the outcome of the ICC process. “Other than holding meetings in boardrooms, nothing is being done to prepare us for the eventual outcome of the confirmation of charges,” he said. In Kisumu, however, there is little or no anxiety over the ICC. “As you are aware, our case (Kisumu police killings) is not at the ICC. That process will not be seen as fair if the case is not included,” said John Otieno, a Kisumu resident.