The Internat ional Criminal Court yes terday gave prose cutors a week to decide whether to proceed w ith their case a gainst Kenyan President U huru Ke nyatt a for crimes agai nst humanity or to withdraw the charges.
Prosecutors say Kenyatta, accused of orchestrating a wave of deadly violence after Kenya’s 2007 elections, has used his political power to obstruct their investigation, especially since becoming president last year. They had asked for the case to be suspended until they had enough evidence to proceed.
The cases against Kenyatta and his Deputy President William Ruto are the highest-profile proceedings in the history of the court set up 11 years ago to try cases concerning grave international crimes that local courts cannot handle.
The court has finished only three cases, all involving little-known Congolese warlords, and has yet to show that it can hold the most powerful offenders to account. Judges agreed that Kenya had not cooperated in “good faith” with the court, but decided against referring the matter to the body representing the court’s 122 member states, saying a referral would not help bring about a fair trial.
Prosecutors did secure one small victory in that the court did not acquit Kenyatta of the charges, as his lawyers had requested. That means the charges could be brought again in future if more evidence becomes available.
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