ICC judges reject Kenya request as Ocampo Six hearings start

Kenya will not be represented at the confirmation hearings of six key suspects of the country's post-election violence, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided on Thursday.

The presiding judge Ekatarina Trendafilova said the Kenya government has no role in the proceedings. (SEE Live Updates)

She announced the ruling as the first confirmation hearing got underway. The first case is against Orange Democratic Movement's (ODM) William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and Joshua Sang'.

Mr Ruto and Mr Kosgey were prominent members of ODM and served in Kenya's ruling coalition until recently. Mr Sang is a radio presenter with Kass FM.

During the opening procedures, Mr Ruto's lawyer, David Hooper raised questions on how the case had been investigated.

Mr Hooper said he is acutely aware that the hearings were not a mini-trial, but asked the judges to take into account the frustration felt by his client.

The lawyer argued that Mr Ruto had done no wrong and is frustrated by the prosecution's over-reliance on a handful of anonymous witnesses.

He accused the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of failing to examine exonerating evidence.

If Mr Ocampo had actively pursued exonerating evidence, he would have approached people in the Rift Valley and would not have come out empty handed, said Mr Hooper.

More details soon.