Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Another ICC prosecutor from the past who was involved in controversy: Ocampo did deals, German magazine revealed

The recent controversy over the questionable actions of current ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, whilst in Kenya have brought back memories of the shocking controversies that ended up surrounding the very first chief prosecutor of the ICC, Argentine lawyer Luis Gabriel Moreno Ocampo.

Although Luis Moreno Ocampo had tracked down the world's worst war criminals and brought them to trial at the International Criminal Court, internal documents revealed that he had allowed a Libyan to take advantage of him in order to shield him from scrutiny and that he had accepted money from the billionaire. This information was revealed in a sensational and depressing article published in 2017 by the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Admittedly, during his 9 year stint at the ICC (2003 to 2012) he oversaw a 300-person office whose responsibility it was to find the world's most terrible criminals. Investigations were carried out in conflict zones, arrest warrants were filed against government officials including heads of states, and Ocampo interacted with businessmen, politicians, and movie stars like Sean Penn and Angelina Jolie who all wanted to be connected with him. He traveled with documentary filmmakers quite a bit. Many found the top prosecutor nothing short of fascinating.

However according to Der Spiegel this image was deceptive and nothing close to the truth. Tens of thousands of previously unpublished papers, including internal ICC documents, contracts, diplomatic communications, bank records, and emails, revealed that the perception the public had of Ocampo was false. The records were obtained by the French investigative website Mediapart, and a team from DER SPIEGEL and its colleagues from the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) reporting network examined them.

According to the records, the chief prosecutor is submissive, loves attention, tolerates conflicts of interest, and appears to have a problem with money. Ocampo, a self-described champion of transparency, owned businesses in multiple tax havens for many years.

However most damaging in the article was the report of a deal Ocampo made close to the conclusion of his time at the ICC. According to reports, he was to receive 2.55 million euros to advise Hassan Tatanaki, a dubious oil tycoon and former Gadhafi regime loyalist who was heavily involved in the Libyan civil war. Tatanaki is a Libyan national and billionaire. Ocampo even made use of insider knowledge to shield his client from potential ICC prosecution. 

The ICC's statutes stipulate that its legal members must be "of high moral character" and cannot "engage in any activity which is likely to affect confidence in their independence." But the records that the German magazine laid bare, shattered this confidence. They had an impact not just on Ocampo but also on the court at The Hague, which was established as a symbol of the victory of morality over vice.

Where Ocampo went after leaving the ICC

Luis Moreno Ocampo joined the New York law firm Getnick and Getnick as worldwide counsel following his ICC tenure.

He served as a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs from 2013 to 2015. He is now working on a book about the first nine years of the Rome Statute and its interactions with the UN Security Council as a senior fellow at Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
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The Karim Khan fiasco has to be amongst the most dramatic developments in Kenya politics in recent times. How so? Karim Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor, recently experienced an embarrassing visit to Kenya and chances are that this happened simply because he was expecting to go unnoticed and unrecognized. If that indeed is the case, then his plan went horribly wrong. Read full article; Karim Khan accidentally exposes Ruto police plan to ICC, Raila happy
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Recent major political events in Kenya would seem confusing to those who want to stick to official narratives. More so those coming out of a government that is well known for propaganda narratives. The truth is that it is highly unlikely that Karim Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor, would come to Kenya for no reason. As the head of the International Criminal Court's prosecution office, his visits to countries are usually driven by specific purposes and objectives.

It is worth examining the circumstances surrounding Uhuru Kenyatta and his family's decision to leave Kenya for a holiday. And the very disturbing timing for this development. Coincidences can occur, but it is important to consider the context and any potential connections.



Even as some Kenyans are highly expectant of a handshake or agreement of some sort coming out of the ongoing talks between Raila and Ruto teams to end political tensions in the country, the emerging realities on the ground tell us a very different story. And they tell us clearly the bad news; we should not expect much to come out of the talks. Both history and the characters of the main players dissuades any serious observer or analyst looking at this any other way.

Even as dark clouds hang over the nation of Kenya spiritually, some Kenyans have a very bad feeling about this August 2023. And they are convinced that something very big is coming. And it could quite possibly be linked to the dramatic events that have unfolded in the country over the last two months or so. Since Kenya attained her independence and even before, the month of August seems to have a streak of bad luck for politicians in Kenya. Disasters too have happened in Kenya in August. Game-changing major events have also unfolded in this same dreaded month.


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