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Kenya’s Kenyatta Case Becoming Trial Of International Criminal Court Itself

Kenya’s Kenyatta Case Becoming Trial Of International Criminal Court Itself

From Irish Times

As Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta continues to burnish his reputation as a pro-western troubleshooter by brokering peace talks in South Sudan, he will be hoping such apparent indispensability could soon help him shrug off allegations of heinous crimes against his own people.

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where Kenyatta faces charges of crimes against humanity, are expected to rule soon on an application by the court’s prosecutor for a delay to the February 5th start of his trial – on the grounds that the evidence against him is no longer sufficient.

There have been angry accusations of witness interference on both sides. Kenyatta’s lawyers have previously asked for the case to be thrown out because, they argued, the evidence against him was tainted by false statements. The option to dismiss is still open to the judges.

The three-judge trial chamber will have to consider the dramatic admission before Christmas by the prosecutor, former Gambian attorney general Fatou Bensouda, that one key witness is no longer willing to testify, while another has admitted giving false evidence about a key event.

Written by Peter Cluskey | Read more at Irish Times