Prosecutor lists Kenyan violence suspects

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 3 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court prosecutor Wednesday named 20 people he said were most responsible for ethnic violence in Kenya after its 2007 elections.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said senior political and business leaders associated with the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement organized, induced and possibly financed attacks against civilians based on the civilians' perceived party affiliation, among other things, the ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said in a release.

Roughly 1,000 people were killed in clashes in December 2007 and January 2008, and another 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes. The ethnic violence erupted following the disputed elections in which President Mwai Kibaki of the PNU was declared the winner over opposition leader Raila Odinga of the ODM, who now is the Kenyan Prime Minister.

"These senior leaders from both PNU and ODM parties were guided by political objectives to retain or gain power," Moreno-Ocampo noted. "They utilized their personal, government, business and tribal network to commit the crimes."

In February, judges from the ICC's pre-trial chamber asked the prosecutor for more information on post-election incidents likely subject to an investigation, groups of people likely to be scrutinized, and investigations being conducted domestically concerning potential cases, the ICC said.

The ICC is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.