Uhuru blames violence on Raila

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday took the stand at the International Criminal Court to defend himself against allegations of crimes against humanity.

In a dramatic confrontation with his accuser, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Mr Kenyatta denied any links with the outlawed Mungiki sect. (READ: Ocampo claims Uhuru-Mungiki link)

Mr Kenyatta blamed Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the violence which swept the nation following the last elections, saying he bore ultimate “political responsibility” for failing to stop it.

Mr Kenyatta said Mr Odinga failed to rein in his supporters who were aggrieved by the results announced by the electoral commission.

“I will not say that he is criminally responsible because I have no evidence,” said Mr Kenyatta in response to a question by Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

“He had political responsibility. If he did not hold press conferences using strong language in that period, if he followed due process and went to court and lastly had he used his political voice to tell supporters to stop the violence, the level of violence would not have been what it was.”

Mr Kenyatta said he could not link the rest of the leadership of ODM with the violence. “He who bears responsibility is the leader. The leader was Raila Odinga. He was the flag-bearer.”

Mr Kenyatta’s statement came at the end of a day in which he sought to cast himself as a nationalist and statesman who could not have incited the violence in which dozens of Kenyans lost their lives in Naivasha and Nakuru. (READ: Uhuru and Muthaura ‘organised attacks’)

Dressed in a dark suit, light blue shirt and striped purple tie to match, Mr Kenyatta spent six hours offering evidence to judges in a tense Courtroom Number One in The Hague.

Mr Kenyatta drew on his political career, his multi-ethnic group of allies and the varied positions he has taken on national issues to paint a profile of what he hoped the judges would conclude was a civilised and urbane politician rather than a war criminal.

“My politics at the time (in 2002), and it still is today, is that we need a united Kenya. All communities need to feel that they are accommodated and that they are part and parcel of the society.”

Mr Kenyatta cited key moments in his political career when he said he went against the grain of expectations in his native central Kenya.

He said that his decision to contest the presidency against fellow Kikuyu candidate Mwai Kibaki in 2002, his swift concession of defeat after that election and his campaign for the “No” side during the 2005 referendum demonstrated his nationalist credentials.

“(When I ran for presidency in 2002) there was a strong feeling that maybe I was out to divide the Kikuyu vote.

“There was a mood developing that there was need to replace Kanu because President Moi had been in power for 24 years.