NAIROBI, Kenya, March 10 (UPI) -- Six men suspected of organizing post-election violence in Kenya that left more than 1,300 people dead have a court date, officials in the African nation said.
The International Criminal Court in the Netherlands has ordered the "Ocampo Six" to appear before judges on April 7, Voice of America reported Thursday.
The men allegedly financed and organized the violence that followed the 2007 presidential election. In addition to the deaths more than 300,000 people were displaced.
Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and other officials are lobbying the court for a one-year delay so the suspects could be tried locally. But they are doing so against the will of the Kenyan people, an opponent of the proposal said.
Ken Wafula, chairman of the National Council of Non-Governmental Organizations, is helping direct a petition against efforts to keep the trial in Kenya.
"There is a wrong perception that has been created, that the Kenyan people are calling for a deferral of the ICC cases," said Wafula. "What we want to drive across is that is not true. The majority of the people want the trials at the ICC to continue. They do not want deferral."
Wafula said the group hopes to submit a petition containing one million names to the U.N. Security Council within two weeks, asking it not to delay the hearing or trial.
