Kenyan leaders on Wednesday reached an agreement to pave way for the setting up of a special tribunal to prosecute those who funded the post-election crisis that left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands others displaced.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who agreed to share power early this year after the mayhem, said the tribunal will seek accountability against persons bearing the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity relating to the 2007 polls.
A statement from Kibaki's office said the Cabinet Committee on the National Accord will prepare a Bill to be known as "The Statute for the Special Tribunal" that will be submitted to the National Assembly for enactment.
"The Bill shall provide for the matters recommended by the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV)," the statement said.
The Cabinet committee, which comprises President Kibaki, Odinga and the eight ministers, who represented parties to the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation, also agreed to ensure that any person holding public office or any public servant charged with a criminal offense related to the 2008 post-election violence shall be suspended from duty until the matter is fully adjudicated upon.
The parties shall also ensure that any person holding public office or any public servant charged with a criminal offense related to the 2008 post-election violence shall be suspended from duty until the matter is fully adjudicated.
"The parties shall also ensure that any person convicted of a post-election violence offense is barred from holding any public office or contesting any electoral position," the statement said.
The two parties agreed to mobilize parliamentary support for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill 2008 and take necessary administrative measures to fully operationalize the Witness Protection Act 2008 and the International Crime Act 2008.
"Convinced that fundamental reforms must be instituted to create a better, more secure and more prosperous Kenya for all, the parties shall initiate urgent and comprehensive reforms of the Kenya Police and the Administration Police," it said.
The reforms will be undertaken by a panel of policing experts and will include but not limited to a review of all tactics, weapons and use of force.
The reforms will also include the establishment of an independent Police Service Commission to oversee both the Kenya Police and Administration police and an Independent Police Conduct Authority for both the Kenya Police and Administration Police.
There shall also be created a modern Code of Conduct for the Kenya Police and administration police and the achievement of ethnic and tribal balance in the force.
They also agreed to ensure that the Conflict and Disaster Early Warning and Response Systems as articulated in the First Medium Term Plan (2008-2012) are developed and implemented as a matter of priority.