Uhuru, Ruto dismiss PM Odinga on ICC trials

Presidential aspirants William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Raila Odinga of using The Hague cases as a presidential race trump card.

As Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta spoke of Mr Odinga’s dishonesty, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi embarked on talks which could lead to a new alliance in the presidential race. Read (Winning polls won't stop ICC trials, Raila tells Uhuru, Ruto)

At separate functions, Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta were categorical that they will not believe the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) presidential aspirant’s pledge to have them tried locally for crime against humanity charges which arose from the 2007/2008 post election violence.

Speaking at the United Republican Party offices along Ngong Road in Nairobi, Mr Ruto claimed PM Odinga had decided to fight him over the case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after he refused his overtures to become his running mate.

“If I was fit to be a running mate when I was meeting him, how come when I refused the offer he now claims I am not fit to be a president or running mate?” he posed.

Mr Ruto urged his former ally now turned political foe, to engage in politics of honesty and stop deceiving Kenyans by frequently changing positions on issues.

Through his spokesman Munyori Buku, Mr Kenyatta said no one could believe Mr Odinga’s promise that he would defer the ICC cases to Kenya once he was elected president.

“When the government went out to convince the UN Security Council over deferral, the ODM wrote to say it wasn’t party. When did they get on the road to Damascus?” he asked.

They were speaking a day after Mr Odinga warned that not even victory at the ballot would save his rivals Ruto and Kenyatta from trial at The Hague over the post-election violence.

During a meeting with Kalenjin elders in Eldoret, he said if elected president, he would push for the cases to be tried at home since the country had a reformed Judiciary and national reconciliation was underway.

He charged that he had worked hard with President Kibaki to constitute a local tribunal for the suspects of the violence but MPs scuttled their efforts.

“President Kibaki and I worked tirelessly to have a local tribunal set up but majority of the leaders, including some of the suspects, advocated for The Hague,” he said.

Former head of civil service Mr Francis Muthaura and Radio Presenter Joshua Sang are also facing the charges.

Mr Ruto said the PM’s remarks did not reflect the position of ODM on the matter.

URP party officials distributed copies of petition letters the ODM party Secretary General Prof Anyang Nyong’o wrote to the UN Security Council on March 11, last year, urging against deferral of the cases at The Hague.

“It is on record the PM said that we should not be free men but should be in the gallows,” he said, castigating the PM for shifting positions.

The Eldoret North MP has rebuffed recent entreaties by Mr Odinga and agreed to an alliance with Mr Kenyatta ahead of the elections.

Dujis MP Mr Aden Duale said the ICC matter was secondary to the party, saying they will deal with it after winning the next elections.

“Once our candidate (URP) is in State House after the March 4 election that is when we will deal with the secondary issue of the ICC,” he said.