Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cases against Ruto, Sang, Muthaura, and Uhuru confirmed




Written By:Diana Okemwa,    Posted: Mon, Jan 23, 2012
The judges confirmed charges against, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, journalist Joshua arap Sang, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta
Four Kenyans will face trial at the International Criminal Court following the confirmation of charges against them by The Hague based court on Monday.  
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura are facing charges of murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population, rape and other inhumane acts while Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Radio presenter Joshua arap Sang are accused of committing murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution.
Presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova with two other judges Peter Hans-Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser who appeared in Courtroom on Monday to deliver the majority verdict said the four are criminally responsible for crimes against humanity that left over 1000 people dead and over 600,000 others displaced.
Judge Trendafilova who read the summary of the ruling said the evidence provided established substantial grounds to believe that the four Kenyans committed crimes against humanity.
However, she noted that the presumption of innocence by suspects is intact until they are found guilty by the trial chamber.
Mean while the Commission of Inquiry on Post Election Violence (CIPEV) that probed the violence in the aftermath of the 2007 elections has called for a special tribunal to try various perpetrators.
The Commission headed by Justice Philip Waki said that in the absence of a special tribunal, a sealed list of suspects be turned over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
CIPEV released its findings on October 15 2008 after a three month investigation. Waki handed over the sealed envelope former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan who was chief mediator in peace talks that ended the post poll chaos.
In July 2009, Annan handed over the Waki envelope to the International Criminal Court after the government failed to establish a local tribunal.
Parliament rejected bills seeking to establish the tribunal suggesting that ICC was the best option. Some of the suspects were on the forefront lobbying for ICC to take up the matter.
On 15th December 2010, ICC chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo named six Kenyans for bearing the greatest responsibility in the post election violence. The mood on Monday was different as the suspects and their supporters condemned the ICC ruling.

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