ICC judges reject Ruto case

William Ruto. PHOTO/FILE

Judges at the International Criminal Court at The Hague have rejected William Ruto’s application criticising its chief prosecutor's investigations and seeking to bar summons or arrest warrants over Kenya poll violence.

Mr Ruto had filed an application at the court arguing that chief prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo failed to conduct proper investigations on the Kenya case and instead relied on reports by the Waki Commission and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

The suspended Higher Education minister sought to have Mr Ocampo barred from seeking any summons or arrest warrants, or filing any application against him until he is given a chance to present his side of the story.

The Waki Commission, formally known as the Commission of Inquiry on Post Election Violence (CIPEV), was set up following the Koffi Annan mediation effort to investigate the chaos that left 1,133 people dead and 650,000 displaced after the disputed presidential election of 2007.

The commission, chaired by Appeal judge Philip Waki, came up with sealed names of the most culpable orchestrators of the violence and the names were eventually handed over to Mr Ocampo by Mr Annan.

The KNCHR also conducted its own investigations and issued a report chronicling witness assertions on how the violence was organised and the suffering of its victims.

Mr Ocampo in December brought two cases against six Kenyans. One case is against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, head of civil service Francis Muthaura, and former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali.

The other case is against Mr Ruto, suspended Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, and radio presenter Joshua Sang. Mr Kosgey is also the chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement party, one-half of the coalition government set up as part of the peace deal following the violence.