Kenya Deputy President Looks to Continue ICC Trial

Written by Makula Dunbar

Oct 15, 2013

Kenya’s deputy president said Tuesday he wants his International Criminal Court trial to continue if judges will allow him to stay in Kenya and carry out his duties.

William Ruto said that Kenya has asked the United Nations Security Council to defer the ICC cases against him and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for a year, but Ruto said he would rather his trial go ahead if he doesn’t have to attend hearings in The Hague.

His comments came days after an African Union summit in Ethiopia said it would not allow a sitting head of state to be prosecuted by an international tribunal and would seek a one-year Security Council deferral.

Kenyatta and Ruto are charged separately with involvement in Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence. Ruto’s trial has started, while Kenyatta’s is to begin Nov. 12.

Calls for delays of the cases against Kenyatta and Ruto have gained traction since the Sept. 21 terror attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall.

The brazen attack by Islamic militants has underscored Kenya’s value to the West in the war against terror. The Somali Islamic group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the assault and said it was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops into neighboring Somalia.