On December 15th Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), named six prominent Kenyans allegedly responsible for facilitating the devastating post-election violence that erupted in early 2008, leaving some 1,200 people dead and 350,000 displaced. The naming of the six could increase tensions--and affect the outcome of the next presidential poll. The six--charged with crimes against humanity are:

• Uhuru Kenyatta (the finance minister and deputy prime minister, and the son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta);
• William Ruto (a former higher education minister and a key politician in the Rift Valley);
• Henry Kosgey (the industrialisation minister);
• Francis Muthaura (the head of the civil service);
• Mohammed Hussein Ali (a former police chief); and
• Joshua arap Sang (a radio broadcaster).

The figures represent the wide range of institutions deemed responsible for the violence, including politicians from both the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement, government officials, the security forces and parts of the media. The list is by no means exhaustive, but following a nine-month probe Mr Moreno-Ocampo believes that he has identified the worst offenders and cites specific instances of their involvement. The prosecutor found no evidence to implicate the president, Mwai Kibaki, or the prime minister, Raila Odinga.

The names were published during the prosecutor's presentation to the ICC's pre-trial chamber in The Hague, which must now decide whether to proceed with legal action and, if so, how the proceedings should be tailored: a decision is expected in early 2011. Mr Moreno-Ocampo recommends that the named persons be summoned to The Hague to give evidence, as opposed to being issued with arrest warrants, which means that they will not be detained and will be considered innocent until proven otherwise. Under this scenario, the suspects are likely to keep their jobs in government pending a full trial, which is unlikely to take place until 2012. However, the ICC can choose to ignore the prosecutor's advice, and should the suspects be summoned but refuse to attend-or if further instances of witness intimidation are uncovered-arrest warrants will probably follow and Kenya will be legally obliged to co-operate. The identity of some of the suspects, such as Mr Ruto, was not a surprise. Others, however-such as Mr Muthaura, who is a close presidential ally and a key figure in the government administration-were unexpected.