Deputy President William Ruto revives criticism of Hague court

Deputy President William Ruto has revived Kenya’s criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a year after judges in The Hague terminated his case.

In an address to a legal forum in Nairobi, Mr Ruto argued the Kenyan cases showed that the court was manipulated by stronger hands in global politics.

“We must ensure that we are champions of institutions that are grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty. I say this informed by Kenya’s cases at the International Criminal Court,” he told an audience attending the Asia-Africa Legal Consultative Organisation (Aalco) conference.

“I am happy they have ended but the experience with the ICC gave us cause to observe that these institutions often times have become tools of global power politics and they do not deliver justice that they were built to dispense.”

FIGHTING CRIMES

The Deputy President spent four years fighting crimes against humanity cases, alongside President Uhuru Kenyatta. They had separately been indicted for crimes against humanity including rape, murder and forcible deportation of civilians during the deadly 2008 post-election violence.

President Kenyatta’s case was terminated in March 2015 after judges agreed with prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s request to withdraw the case for lack of sufficient evidence.

In April last year, Trial Chamber V (A) decided by majority vote to terminate Mr Ruto’s case, alongside radio presenter Joshua Sang’s.

While the cases went on, Kenya routinely criticised ICC, arguing it targeted only Africans. It warned of pulling out of the court.

In 2015, President Kenyatta pushed for strengthening of the African Court of Human and People’s Rights to try crimes against humanity