JOINT DEMARCHE ON GOK COOPERATION WITH ICTR ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001354 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: PREL KAWC EFIN PHUM KE RW NO SUBJECT: JOINT DEMARCHE ON GOK COOPERATION WITH ICTR ON FELICIEN KABUGA REF: KEITH-DOHERTY E-MAIL OF 22 MAY 2008 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Pamela Slutz, reasons 1.4 (b,d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On May 23, Acting PolCouns joined other Friends of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in delivering a demarche to the Foreign Minister. The message was clear: Kenya's recent steps on freezing war crimes suspect Felicien Kabuga's assets were much appreciated; however, the ICTR Chief Prosecutor believes Kenya can do more. Unless there is some positive action from the Kenyan government, the Chief Prosecutor plans to tell the UN Security Council on June 4 that Kenya is not living up to its legal obligations to support the ICTR. ¶2. (C) The Foreign Minister said that the recent freezing of Kabuga's assets was just the beginning of the process to "shut him down" and that he remains one of Kenya's most wanted men. Kabuga's unknown whereabouts can be blamed on the ICTR's lack of sustained attention to the issue, the Foreign Minister said. Referring to a press article claiming to be an interview with Kabuga, the Foreign Minister said that the National Security Intelligence Service is investigating it to see if there is any merit to the claims. Regardless of Kabuga's current whereabouts, the Canadians believe that the Kenyan Government knows more than they are letting on. If the press article is to be believed, Kabuga left Kenya because the changing political environment made his former protectors shift their political alliances. End Summary. -------------- Friends of ICTR Ask For More Support -------------- ¶3. (C) On May 23, Acting PolCouns joined representatives from the UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Rwanda, France, Germany, and the European Commission in delivering a demarche to Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula on the degree of cooperation the Government of Kenya is providing to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). (Note: The group, which has demarched the government before, is known as the "Friends of the ICTR." End Note.) ¶4. (C) The message delivered (with the Canadian High Commissioner in the lead) was clear: Kenya's recent steps on freezing suspected war criminal Felicien Kabuga's financial assets were much appreciated; however, ICTR Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow believes that much more could be done in terms of seizing additional assets and providing more information on Kabuga's movements. Jallow is scheduled to brief the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on June 4, and at this time plans to report that Kenya has not lived up to their legal obligation to cooperate with the ICTR. While it is well understood that the Kenyan government has been extremely busy dealing with the post-election political crisis, the ICTR's mandate ends in December 2008, and time is running short. Acting PolCouns emphasized the seriousness of the issue and added that the Government's response to the demarche will influence the USG's statement at the June 4 UNSC meeting. -------------- Foreign Minister Promises More Action, Complains of ICTR Lack of Consistency -------------- ¶5. (C) Wetangula replied that the Kenyan government's position on war crimes is an open page and that the government does not benefit from withholding information on Kabuga. Government officials since the time of President Moi have supported Kabuga individually, but this is not official government policy. If we knew where he was, Wetangula said, we would turn him in. ¶6. (C) Wetangula added that he had discussed the issue with the Attorney General and they have agreed that the recent NAIROBI 00001354 002 OF 002 freezing of Kabuga's assets is only the beginning of a process to "shut him down." ¶7. (C) Wetangula also said that Kabuga is on Kenya's most wanted list and that police continue to look for him. (Note: At the beginning of the meeting, however, Wetangula handed out a recent article by African Press International documenting an alleged interview with Kabuga, who is now reportedly in Norway. "I don't know if this article is accurate," Wetangula said, but added that he had turned it over to the National Security Intelligence Service to see if the claims had any merit. End Note.) ¶8. (C) "In order to catch Kabuga," Wetangula continued, "a sustained effort is needed. The only time we hear from the Chief Prosecutor's office is when the ICTR's mandate is threatened. As soon as their mandate is renewed, we hear nothing." Wetangula continued that it was his own initiative to establish a task force to increase cooperation with the Chief Prosecutor's office. Last year, Wetangula offered to dedicate a senior police officer to work on ICTR issues full time, but, he observed, the ICTR has never convened the task force nor asked it to pursue specific leads, he said. Wetangula also took strong exception to the accusation that the Government has additional information that it has refused to hand over. ¶9. (C) "If you have additional information, please hand it over to us and we will widen the net. We will make people prove that their property and assets are not linked to Kabuga," Wetangula said. -------------- -------------- Canadians Say Kenyans Know More Than They Let On; Kabuga Reportedly Says New Political Environment Forced Departure -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C) The Canadian High Commissioner asked Wetangula to ensure the Chief Prosecutor and Kenya's Attorney General are in communication with one another, saying "We have seen better cooperation in the past when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in the lead." Wetangula said that although the Attorney General was out of the country, Wetangula would contact him specifically to request that he write another letter to the Chief Prosecutor to "tell him what we know." ¶11. (C) Comment: While Wetangula is likely correct in his description of the ICTR's interaction with the Kenyan Government, the Canadian High Commission, the lead in organizing the Friends of the ICTR, strongly believes that the Kenyans are in a position to reveal more about Kabuga than they let on. ¶12. (C) Comment, cont: If the Africa Press International article is to be believed, Kabuga left Kenya because it was becoming too difficult to pay off government officials for the necessary protection. Kabuga reportedly cited a change in the political environment as being responsible for the changing allegiances of his former protectors. The article is available at http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/ . The Norwegian Deputy Chief of Mission has already communicated to his government the information contained in the article and said that his government is fully prepared to cooperate with the ICTR should Kabuga be in Norway. End Comment. RANNEBERGER