From Seoul with soul

By Tony Mochama

They say a prophet is not respected in his own home, but Pastor Ock-soo Park, is an exception. The founder of the Good News Broadcasting Station (GBS) is revered globally — from Korea, his homeland, to Kenya, his mission’s biggest base in Africa.

On a lightning visit to the station’s premises in the Garden Estate area of Nairobi, so busy was Pastor Park’s schedule that this writer had to conduct the entire interview at the back of a GBS minivan on the way from Thika Road to town, by the fading light of dusk.

For once, the thick Thika Road traffic was a blessing in disguise.

“I was born in 1944,” Pastor Park tells me, dapper in manner, his speech rapid and voice firm with the certainty of one used to telling a unique life story many, many times.

“Not a fortuitous time to be born in Korea, because the Axis armies of Imperial Japan invaded the country, and there was a lot of mass suffering and starvation,” he says.

Of course the Americans ended World War II against the Japanese by bombing Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945, but if Korea thought its political problems were over, it was bitterly disappointed.

“I can’t recall a single happy moment in my childhood,” Park says, a faraway look in his eyes. “Not a single one! My father had been killed in the war. We were always half starved. Then, when I was eight years old, tragedy struck again.”

Park’s life, certainly, has been no walk in the park.

Civil war

In 1953, Korea was plunged into civil war as the communist North and capitalist South fought it out for political supremacy. Death and famine stalked the land, including the family of mother, two girls (aged 15 and 13), 17-year-old Park and their four-year-old brother. Then his mother got stomach cancer and passed on.

“Now we were hungry orphans in a war-torn nation,” he recalls.

“No hope, not knowing what would happen next in this life, begging for food. I remember my teenage sisters and myself crying ourselves to sleep almost every night and our younger brother not knowing what was going on but joining in nonetheless.”

When he was just 17, Park joined the South Korea army as a volunteer.

“I was not so smart, not so well educated, not outstanding, life had not been kind. No hope, no job, so why not?”

He says he really felt like a sinner who deserved all the trash life had thrown at him, that he was not a good person.

two chapters of life

But all that changed on October 7, 1962 when he was 18.

“On that day, I asked Jesus to come into my life and change me. I have had only two kinds of life. The one I had from when I was born until that October, which was no life at all. Then the life I have had from then until today.”

With the gospel foundation he had in various mission schools, Park set out to preach and introduce Jesus into the lives of his fellow Korean soldier conscripts.

For the first, but not last, time during our congenial van interview, pastor smiles: “When I asked our commanding officer for permission to preach to the new trainees, he was pleased. Relieved even. Not because he was a staunch Christian himself, no, but he figured with the gospel, he would have better, more obedient young soldiers, less trouble all around,” he says.

Park served in the army for three years and earned converts among the young recruits “through the Grace of God”.

Met Kenyan delegation

Fast-forward to 1993. There is an exhibition in Korea and Kenya has sent a delegation of 20 functionaries there. Coincidentally, and with his wife and childlike curiosity, Park happened upon the Kenyan stand and immediately felt a divine intuition that God had work for him in this country of which he knew little except “it had animals and game park safaris”.

With his wife’s consent, he invited the Kenyans for a meal at their home.

“We all got along so well that I ended up hosting them and taking them around Korea, for an extra two days beyond their official schedule,” he says.

Kenya’s then Minister for Trade was so impressed by the pastor that he invited him to visit Kenya. Never one to miss the opportunity to spread the good news, Park arranged to come at a time when there was a large prayer crusade at Nyayo Stadium in 1994. And he got the chance to curtain raise.

“From that day, I knew God wanted me to start a mission here, and on March 1, 1996, we had our first Good News Missionaries from Korea on the ground in Kenya,” he says.

The Kenya senior pastor now is Kim Jeong Hong, a young, tall, handsome soft-spoken man. And the general manager of GBS is Hae Jong, an older tough fellow who looks every bit the cool corporate operator.

Thirteen years later, not only does the pastor’s mission have a 400 student strong Bible College but it also has a high-tech digitised media studio — the Good News Broadcasting System.

“Fifty five per cent of GBS’s programming is Christian,” say Hong and Jong.

“The other 45 per cent is equally split between informational programmes, drama, entertainment, news and education”.

Successful broadcasts

Looking at GBS’s Sunday programming alone, one finds varied content involving news panorama, programmes such as The Lighthouse and Out of Despair as well as children’s animation and an ‘art stage’ programme.

Park says of the success, “Receive the word of God, and not his judgment. Rely not in your experience, but the wisdom of the Lord. Not to be self-centred, but to be spiritual. To know that no problem of yours in life is too big for Jesus. And to realise that, when one reads the Bible correctly, all our sins are washed away.”

In the 1960s, after the army, Park was a roaming missionary, spreading the gospel on a relatively empty belly, relying on the kindness of human brethren, “as God always provided”.

Matthew 6: 25-26 are some of his favourite biblical verses: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Seven years of hard labour

As he traversed South Korea with the gospel in his mouth and the Lord’s song in his heart, in 1969, grace finally flooded his face.

“An American joined me in my missionary travels for exactly one year. He returned to the US and ten days later, his church, which I knew nothing about, sent me $350 (Sh26,250, at today’s rate), which in 1969 was a lot of money. After seven years of hard labour for the Lord, the cup I held finally had a bit of wine.”

Forty years later, and working with Christian organisations from Kenya to Ghana and the USA, no one can claim that the cup of the man of God from Korea doesn’t overflow.

 

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EAC extends duty waiver on Kenya’s malt, barley imports

By James Anyanzwa

The East African Community (EAC) Council of Finance Ministers has extended Kenya’s right to waive duty on barley and malt imports by one more year.

The ministers granted Kenya’s request for extension of remission of duty, to apply an import duty rate of zero per cent instead of 10 per cent on malt, and 10 per cent instead of 25 per cent on barley, until June 30, 2010.

Last year, Kenya made a request for reduction of duty on barley and malt imports for East African Breweries Limited (EABL) for a period of one year, because of shortages of the two commodities after crop failure.

A similar request by Tanzania was granted during the Pre-Budget consultations of Ministers of Finance of June last year.

As the EAC’s policy-making organ, the Council of Ministers is charged with, among other responsibilities, keeping under constant review the implementation of the programmes of the Community.

The EAC Post-Budget consultations meeting of the Ministers of Finance, which ended in Arusha on November 5, also emphasized the need for a social protection regime, to support the movement of labour across the region, ahead of the free movement of labour as envisaged in the Common Market Protocol.

Lower rates

In a statement from the EAC secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania on Saturday, the Ministers approved the remission of duty on goods used in the manufacture of products for export, subject to conditions specified in Articles 25 and 27 of the Protocol Establishing the EAC Customs Union.

Under the Draft Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA), the Ministers adopted fixed rates for withholding tax at 5 per cent on dividends, and 10 per cent on interest, royalties, management and professional fees under the DTA.

They also agreed that Partner States should not negotiate with third parties for rates lower than those in the EAC DTA.

The meeting, chaired by Mr James Musoni, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Republic of Rwanda, was attended by finance ministers and respective Permanent Secretaries, Central Bank Governors and senior officials from all the partner states.

The Republic of Burundi was, however, not represented at the post-budget consultative meeting.

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Ocampo’s 50-hour swoop

ICC chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Photo/FILE

By OLIVER MATHENGE

The International Criminal Court prosecutor, Louis Moreno Ocampo, left Kenyans with a clear message – that The Hague process had officially begun. During his three-day visit, the ICC prosecutor ensured that the government understood what was to happen next as the ICC president in The Hague had appointed a three-judge bench to determine the fate of masterminds of the post-election violence.

From touching down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday to his departure on Saturday at 9 a.m., Mr Moreno Ocampo demonstrated how swiftly the ICC was ready to deal with the Kenyan situation. He was spirited to the Windsor Hotel where he had breakfast. He then he met Kenyan authorities, including President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Harambee House.

The two principals declined to make a government self-referral to the ICC and left it to the prosecutor to use his other option – the pre-trial chamber. Mr Moreno Ocampo was then whisked to State House for lunch after which he retreated to his hotel where he is believed to have contacted Judge Sang-Hyun Song, the court’s president.

While he was touring the Nairobi National Park and meeting diplomats at the United Nations complex on Friday, Mr Sang-Hyun appointed a three-judge bench that will consider his request. And at the 7.30 a.m. press conference on Saturday, Mr Moreno Ocampo underscored the urgency with which the ICC was acting on the Kenyan case.

The prosecutor indicated that should the judges authorise the opening of the investigation, he will ensure that this “proceeds expeditiously”. This decision, the Sunday Nation later learnt, is likely to come in as early as the second week of December since the ICC breaks for its winter recess on December 12.

“Everyone is worried of the next election in Kenya. I understand the importance of speed, and I am working to be sure that during 2010 we will be able to complete the investigations and to define who the accused are, they have to face justice and you can have a peaceful election,” Mr Moreno Ocampo said.

According to ICC procedures, Mr Moreno Ocampo’s request to the pre-trial chamber has to be determined within 30 days. The judges dealing with the Kenya situation are Hans-Peter Kaul, who is also the ICC second vice-president, Cuno Tarfusser and Ekaterina Trendafilova. The move to constitute the chamber signified that ICC was ready to move swiftly, coming only a day after the government declined to formally refer the case to the ICC over last year’s post-election violence.

In another strong indicator that the ICC wants to speed up the process was given by Mr Moreno Ocampo who said that “two or three cases” would come up for trial with the next “four to six months”. Calculation shows that the Kenyan trials could start by July next year.

In their determination, ICC judges will either grant him the authority to start investigations in Kenya, reject his request or ask him for more information. A statement from The Hague said Mr Moreno Ocampo had on Thursday – the same day he met the Kenya authorities – written to Judge Sang-Hyun informing him of his intention to request authority to launch investigations in Kenya.

“The (ICC) presidency had received from the prosecutor a letter, dated 5 November, 2009, indicating his intention to submit a request for the authorisation of an investigation into that situation considering that “there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into the situation in the Republic of Kenya in relation to the post-election violence of 2007-2008”,” the statement read in part.

On Thursday, Mr Moreno Ocampo flew to Nairobi to meet President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga and informed them of what he planned to do next about the Kenyan situation. Before leaving for South Africa on Saturday, he said the two principals had promised to cooperate with the ICC, which he added would be the greatest democratic test for the coalition government.

Intentions clear

At an early morning press conference, Mr Moreno Ocampo made his intentions clear, indicating that he was determined “to present two or three cases against those persons considered the most responsible” to the ICC. The swiftness with which the ICC is acting is likely to raise political temperatures in the country due to some earlier misconceived notion that The Hague process is slow.

The first indictment can be expected in early 2010 with Mr Moreno Ocampo indicating that the full-scale trials are likely to begin in the next “three to six months”. There have been divisions over whether the country should try the suspects in a local tribunal or refer them to The Hague.

Those pushing for the local tribunal have been arguing that the ICC would take long and would not deal with a large number of the suspects. But Mr Moreno Ocampo seemed to indicate that this notion is incorrect, indicating that the ICC has enough information on Kenya for the swiftest action possible.

However, the prosecutor said that Kenya should not view the ICC as the only solution and insisted the country must put a local judicial mechanism in place to try the suspects he will not deal with. In his letter to Judge Sang-Hyun, the prosecutor said he intends “ to submit a request under article 15, paragraph 3 of the Statute by December 1, 2009”.

ICC regulations require that the presidency assign the issue to a pre-trial chamber as soon as it receives to the notification. The section of the Rome Statute indicates that if the prosecutor concludes that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, he seeks authorisation from the pre-trial chamber. At this point, victims of the alleged atrocities may make representations to the pre-trial chamber as it seeks to make a decision.

In his 30-minute interaction with journalists, Mr Moreno Ocampo indicated that he already had a team of investigators, lawyers, and international cooperation advisers ready to deal with the Kenyan case. Expressing a sense of urgency, the ICC prosecutor put on notice masterminds of the violence who thought that The Hague trials would be delayed.

The 2008 violence in Kenya broke out after the disputed re-election of President Kibaki to a second term. The violence led to the death of 1,133 people and the displacement of 650,000 others. The Waki Commission of Inquiry on the violence reported that while some of the violence was sparked by the poll dispute, in some other areas it had been planned.

Mr Moreno Ocampo said that if he were allowed to return to Kenya, his interaction with the victims would be very discreet in an apparent appeal to them to meet him when called to do so. He said the victims’ interviews by the prosecutor were part of the healing process. He also made it clear that he would go for those individuals who bore the greatest responsibility for atrocities against Kenyan civilians.

He added that he was not bound by the list prepared by the Waki Commission, which is said to include Cabinet ministers, MPs and prominent business persons. The ICC prosecutor indicated that the trials could be held in Kenya but gave a strong indication that they may also be based in Arusha where there are “well established systems and facilities.”

The Tanzanian city hosts the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda where suspects involved in the 1994 genocide have been prosecuted. Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo, who played host to Mr Moreno Ocampo, said that he was satisfied with how the matter has developed. “I wish it could have occurred earlier. I wish it could come sooner. If you say it is pre-mature, what about those who died? When will it mature? We want closure,” said Mr Kilonzo.

Elsewhere, Eldoret Catholic Diocese Bishop Cornelius Kipng’eno Korir said that Mr Moreno Ocampo’s trip would have been even more successful if he had met the victims. “I was excited when I heard of his coming. It was really positive. But he ought to have visited the hot spots so that he would have a feel of the victims, especially this North Rift region,” said Bishop Korir, whose diocese hosted more than 32,000 IDPs at the height of post-election violence.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Komen

 

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Americans punishing Kenya: New US visa rules for students

By PAUL JUMA

 

Students applying for American visas must now get a consent from their financial sponsors, according to the US embassy.

The US embassy in Nairobi the new measures, which require sponsors to obtain and fill a consent form for the students under their sponsorship.

In addition, the sponsors may be contacted to verify the consent and the authenticity of their financial documents.

New regulations will also apply for those who choose to present bank statements in support of their applications as they will have to present original statements from commercial banks registered by the Central Bank.

A statement from the embassy announced that the new measures were meant to enhance customer service and ensure continued integrity of the visa application process.

The new rules became effective at the beginning of this month.

 

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Kibaki, Raila change tune over poll chaos trial

By Alex Ndegwa and Sam Otieno

The International Criminal Court (ICC) set in motion the wheels of justice to try perpetrators of post-election violence as its Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo indicated trials could begin in July next year.

He also indicated President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had agreed to facilitate arrests of the indicted, irrespective of their positions. This signals a change of heart barely days after reports indicated the two leaders were unwilling to sacrifice their political allies for fear of a political backlash.

Moreno-Ocampo even hinted the suspects could be taken to Tanzania instead of The Hague. As the seat of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which is set to wound up soon, Arusha, he suggested, has the capacity and facilities to try the Kenyan suspects.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. He believes he has a strong case against a few people for crimes committed during Kenya’s post-election violence and he will move fast to avoid a repeat at the 2012 election.

Three pre-trial judges were appointed to determine whether the ICC should commence investigations into the Kenya case. The development came after Ocampo left the country at the end of his three-day visit with a declaration he would hasten the trials.

He said he plans to present two to three cases for trial possibly by July, next year, so that Kenya would go to the next General Election, due in 2012, without fear of violence.

“Everyone is worried about the next General Election. That’s why I understand the importance of speed,” he told a news conference, at the Windsor Golf and Country Club, on Saturday.

If his request is accepted, Moreno-Ocampo said, then he will begin work next month. After the Thursday meeting with Kibaki and Raila, the prosecutor announced he would be asking ICC judges to open investigations.

“We expect to do the cases in four, five or six months; that is our style and that is what we are trying to do,” he added. Ocampo said he has a strong case against masterminds of the violence and exuded confidence ICC judges would back his probe.

Meet victims

As soon as the judges open investigations, the prosecutor said, he would meet the victims of the violence. Officially, some 1,300 people were reported killed and more than 300,000 displaced.

Procedurally, the prosecutor must obtain the court’s permission to open an investigation upon proof crimes committed are within the jurisdiction of the ICC and that there are no relevant national proceedings in connection with those offences.

The presidency of the ICC on Friday, a day after receipt of the prosecutor’s request, assigned the case to Pre-Trial Chamber II, which comprises a Bulgarian Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, Hans-Peter Kaul (Germany) and Cuno Tarfusser (Italy). The President, Justice Sang-Hyun Song, signed the notification dated November 6.

With the exception of Tarfusser who was appointed in March this year, the other two judges have served at the ICC for six years.

Under the Rome Statute, the prosecutor can decide proprio motu (on his own) to initiate an investigation as an option to either a State referral or one by a resolution of the UN Security Council.

Crimes against humanity

Ocampo, who has stated he considered the atrocities committed in Kenya crimes against humanity, said he has solid evidence based on the Waki Report and other international reports.

“I think I have a strong case because the Waki Commission did a very good report, and there are other reports from the UN and human rights groups. I think I have a very strong case,” he said. He said investigators were analysing the information in The Hague.

He, however, stressed that he will complement the Waki Report with his own investigations, adding names suggested by the Waki Commission are not necessarily binding to him.

In July, Chief Mediator Kofi Annan handed over to Ocampo the envelope containing the names of high profile individuals — among them at least four Cabinet ministers — who are believed to bear the greatest responsibility for the mayhem.

On Saturday, the prosecutor seemed to support the report, saying that there will “probably” be “two or three cases because there are different groups who committed the crimes and we will identify the most responsible of each group”.

Once sufficient evidence to establish criminal liability is gathered, he explained, he would request ICC judges to either issue summonses requesting the suspects to voluntarily appear before the court or issue warrants of arrest.

Once the arrest warrants are issued, he said, it is the duty of the Kenya police to enforce them. “The police have a duty and they are the only ones who can arrest people in Kenya and they have to do it. Kenya is a well organised State,” he said.

He added: “I don’t have any doubts that they can arrest people. Kenya is a beautiful country. They can do it, and they will do it if the judges tell them to.”

Ocampo said 25 to 30 witnesses are normally called for the process that will take five to six months.

He, however, said the identity of the witnesses would be confidential. “I will take statements in a very confidential way. No one will know who the witnesses are, where we are taking them. No one will know, that has to be made clear,” he said.

“I will come back to Kenya. I will go to the places where crimes occurred. I will meet the victims, and I will listen to them.”

In accordance with the Rome Statute, the victims of the crimes have a role in the proceedings. The victims’ role will also be part of their healing process.

“Victims can present their views and concerns and they can request reparations,” he said.

The prosecutor said his motivation to bring to justice post-poll chaos suspects is driven by the citizens’ quest for justice and desire to prevent a repeat of the violence. But he said to stamp out impunity a special local tribunal must be established to deal with other perpetrators who could be in hundreds.

Imanyara Bill

Parliament reopens on Tuesday and debate on a Bill by Central Imenti MP Gitobu Imanyara seeking to establish a local tribunal could be considered.

Imanyara told The Standard on Sunday on Saturday the Bill gives Kenyans hope that all suspects in the atrocities would be prosecuted. He said it was the responsibility of MPs to pass the Bill, which he reckoned would be key to the setting up of a local mechanism for trying a majority of post-election violence suspects.

The Government on Thursday declined to refer the Kenyan case to the ICC, prompting Ocampo to indicate he would seek approval from ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to begin investigations next month.

Imanyara welcomed the prosecutor’s arrival but blamed the Government for making the ICC Chief Prosecutor look like a prisoner. He said the prosecutor could not meet other interested groups such as civil society and victims because of Government interference.

He said he had secured an appointment with Ocampo for 4pm on Friday, but when he went to see him at his hotel, security officers blocked him. He said although the ICC was determined to deal with the suspects, he does not believe the Government will arrest the indicted.

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