ICC's Ocampo says has strong cases in Kenya

By David Clarke

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court prosecutor 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.

Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told a news conference on Saturday there was also a chance any trial could take place in Kenya, or at the court in Arusha in Tanzania where suspects from Rwanda's 1994 genocide have been prosecuted.

"We have so many reports saying the same, I think I have a strong case," Moreno-Ocampo said told a news conference.

"Probably here will be two or three different cases, because there are different groups who committed crimes and we will identify the most responsible for each group."

Ethnic clashes after a disputed presidential election killed at least 1,300 people and uprooted more than 300,000, shattering Kenya's image as a stable, regional economic powerhouse.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo met President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Thursday and told them he would request the green light for an investigation in December from the ICC's pre-trial judges.

He said his decision to proceed unilaterally was because the Kenyan leaders had decided against referring the case themselves to The Hague, but they had promised to cooperate.