By Wangui Kanina NAIROBI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Kenya's coalition government leaders failed to win parliamentary approval on Thursday for the creation of a special court on home soil to try the perpetrators of last year's post-election violence. Encouraged by foreign donors, both President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had supported forming the court before an end-February deadline, at which point suspects' names could go instead to the International Criminal Court. Yet despite the big two's presence and lobbying in parliament, the government was unable to muster the two-thirds of the votes necessary to pass a constitutional amendment to set up the court with local and foreign judges. "This is a setback in the war against impunity and injustice, the government will take stock and move forward," a disappointed Odinga told reporters afterwards. Plenty of rank-and-file legislators believe a local tribunal would let the main culprits off, as has been the case with past attempts in Kenya to try corruption suspects. They would prefer the Hague-based ICC to step in. "The only reason I'm opposing this motion is because my people tell me they have absolutely no faith in any of the government commissions of inquiries," said one legislator, Cecily Mbarire, who is the assistant minister for tourism. The violence that erupted in January and February 2008 over Kibaki's disputed re-election was the worst in Kenya since 1963 independence from Britain. It killed at least 1,300 people, displaced more than 300,000 and paralysed the economy. Kibaki and Odinga formed a coalition in April 2008, which effectively stopped the worst violence. They have both been heavily criticised, however, by Kenyans for failing to stop corruption and not carrying out much-needed political reforms. In Thursday's debate, the government won 101 votes, versus 93 against the amendment. "The 'No's' have more then 35 percent minimum amount required, that being the case, the motion is negative and therefore lost," said parliamentary speaker Kenneth Marende, to loud applause from opponents. Judge Philip Waki, who conducted a government-commissioned probe into Kenya's election crisis, has given former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan a sealed envelope with around 10 names of senior figures accused of masterminding violence. Analysts say they include several ministers in Kibaki's cabinet. Waki said that if Kenya failed to set up a tribunal, the envelope would be sent to The Hague. It was unclear if Kenya's government would pursue any other options to bring the local tribunal plan back to parliament in time to beat the Waki deadline. (Writing by Andrew Cawthorne)
A visitor photographs near a glass stupa memorial containing thousands of human bones and skulls of people killed on the summit of Wat Phnom Sampeau in Cambodia's Battambang Province February 11, ...
