On 7-8 March 2024 in Nairobi, the Wayamo Foundation and the Kenya’s Prosecution Training Institute (PTI) co-hosted two events, a one-day workshop on international criminal justice followed by a mock trial on international crimes.
The events, opened by Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions Deputy Director Public Prosecutions and Head of the Prosecution Training Institute Alloys Kemo, and Wayamo Foundation Director Bettina Ambach, brought together international and Kenyan experts and prosecutors in a forum for respectful and spirited discussion and debate.
The workshop featured sessions on prosecuting international crimes with a special focus on command responsibility, international criminal investigations, making sense of crimes against humanity, the view from the defence: defending alleged perpetrators of international crimes, the range of different accountability mechanisms for international crimes, and the exercise of universal jurisdiction, both internationally and in the East African region.
Nairobi PTI Mock Trial March 2024
It featured contributions from:
- James Stewart, former Deputy Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court
- Ben Gumpert, QC, Crown Court Judge and former barrister; former Senior Trial Lawyer at the International Criminal Court
- Kirsty Sutherland, barrister at 9 Bedford Row, acted as defence counsel in several international courts and tribunals
- Amanda Ghahremani, Legal Consultant, International Criminal Law and Redress for Survivors of Atrocity Crimes
- Mark Kersten, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University Fraser Valley, Canada and Senior Consultant, Wayamo Foundation
- Mikel Delagrange, Senior International Legal Advisor, Wayamo Foundation
- Linda Bore, International Criminal Lawyer, Wayamo Foundation
Following the workshop, a mock trial based on a fictional set of circumstances was designed to test the application of universal jurisdiction for international crimes in Kenyan courts. The mock case examined the provisions of the International Crimes Act No.16 of 2008, and brought together preeminent international and Kenyan judges and prosecutors who guided the audience through some of the thornier issues facing lawyers seeking to apply international law domestically. The mock trial aimed to make the International Crimes Act more accessible and actionable for the Kenyan legal practitioners in the audience.
Ben Gumpert, QC, Crown Court Judge and former barrister; former Senior Trial Lawyer at the International Criminal Court & Lady Justice Diana Mochache, Judge, High Court of Kenya
Along with the international experts who collaborated with their Kenyan counterparts, the mock trial featured:
- Lady Justice Diana Mochache, Judge, High Court of Kenya
- Alexander Jami Yamina, Ag. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
- Tabitha Ouya, Head of Civil Rights Division, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
- Victor Owiti, Principal Prosecution Counsel, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
The events were held in the context of Wayamo’s ongoing project “Capacity building for civil society and the justice sector in Sudan” project, with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The Project is set in the wider context of providing training in international criminal law, international humanitarian law and human rights to civil society and legal actors both in Sudan and the East African region, aimed at building a coalition committed to addressing impunity through regional and domestic accountability measures, such as national court systems.
