I'm excited by this news, Uhuru says after Bensouda withdraws case against him

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday said he was relieved to learn that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had withdrawn criminal charges against him.

President Kenyatta’s reaction came moments after Ms Bensouda announced her decision and two days after judges of Trial Chamber V (B) gave her seven days to withdraw the case if she did not have enough evidence to go to trial.

The President said the withdrawal was long overdue.

“I am excited by this news, which I have awaited ever since the day my name was announced to the world in connection with the case.

"I am also deeply relieved by this decision, which is overdue by 6 years,” said President Kenyatta in a statement.

He reiterated that he was innocent of the charges levelled against him.

“I have repeatedly declared my innocence to the people of Kenya and (to) the whole world.

“I repeat this even now: as relates the incidents comprising the Kenyan cases at the ICC, my conscience is absolutely clear,” he said in his statement.

KENYAN CASES RUSHED

He said the Kenyan cases were rushed and lacked proper investigation or preparation, adding that there was a strong interest to stigmatise (the) accused persons.

He said the ICC was expected to dispense justice with integrity and without undue considerations, adding that the way the case was handled undermined the principles of justice.

“For the Prosecutor to sustain an obviously deficient case for so long demonstrates beyond doubt the intensity of pressure exerted by improper interests to pollute and undermine the philosophy of international justice,” President Kenyatta said.

The President said the 2007-2008 post-election violence victims would not get satisfaction from the ICC due to what he called the “Prosecutor’s decision to compromise a quest for justice in favour of political considerations.”

“Just as the ICC failed me, it has also failed the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

“They were killed, maimed, displaced, dispossessed and utterly traumatised. I have been victimised, libelled and senselessly profiled by the same defective process,” said the President.

VICTIMS TO GET JUSTICE

He said the government was working to ensure that the post-election violence victims ultimately get justice in Kenya.

“The world may have failed them, but they will not be let down at home,” he reiterated.

The President, at the same time, expressed his solidarity with Deputy President William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang, who are facing similar cases at The Hague.

He thanked Africa leaders who, through the African Union, stood in solidarity with him as he faced the ICC.

The President’s reaction came even as the lawyer representing the victims of post-election violence at the ICC, Fergal Gaynor, termed the withdrawal of the case against Mr Kenyatta a disappointment.

Mr Gaynor, in a statement issued soon after Ms Bensouda announced her decision to withdraw the case against the President, said the victims were still crying for justice.