Jubilee MPs to resume rallies over Ruto case

Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando at a past press conference. Mr Kabando said the case against Deputy President Ruto will collapse "because it has been politicised by external powers". FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The MPs fear Jubilee coalition will suffer a major blow should the case against one of its key partners, the Deputy President, drag too close to the 2017 General Elections.
  • The DP’s defence team filed a no-case to answer motion after Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda concluded her case.
  • Jubilee also hopes the Appeals Chamber will rule in its favour on Rule 68, regarding the use of recanted evidence.

The case of crimes against humanity facing Deputy President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to trigger a fresh political storm in the New Year as Jubilee MPs resume their prayer rallies.

Jubilee Chief Whip Katoo Ole Metito on Monday said the prayer rallies will resume after the festivities.

He said they had only taken a break to join their families for Christmas before resuming the rallies.

“Jubilee is one family. The bond is strong and not pegged on the ICC case against Mr Ruto. We are together with our two brothers (Mr Ruto and Joshua Sang) and we will use all means, including holding countrywide prayers, to see to it that the case against them is dropped,” Mr Metito said.

Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando said the case will collapse "because it has been politicised by external powers".

Mr Kabando has pegged hope on a petition 170 MPs have send to the UN Security Council and the Assembly of State Parties (ASP) seeking an audit into how the ICC Prosecutor recruitment her witnesses.

The MPs fear Jubilee coalition will suffer a major blow should the case against one of its key partners, the Deputy President, drag too close to the 2017 General Elections.

“The petition by the bi-partisan MPs is tilting the scales in the diplomatic circles,” Mr Kabando added.

Mr Ruto is hoping to be President Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate again in 2017, but this time on the new Jubilee Party ticket.

JUBILEE'S PRAYERS
The DP’s defence team filed a no-case to answer motion after Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda concluded her case.

The hearing will be between January 14 and 17, next year.

The Deputy President, who led his United Republican Party into a coalition with President Kenyatta’s The National Alliance party, was a key player in Jubilee’s victory during the 2013 elections.

He could walk free from the jaws of ICC or the case may interfere with their 2017 poll plans depending on the decision of the judges, especially if they find he has a case to answer.

Jubilee also hopes the Appeals Chamber will rule in its favour on Rule 68, regarding the use of recanted evidence.

The matter kicked off a diplomatic storm during the ASP meeting in November as Kenya sought to stop the ICC from using such evidence against Mr Ruto and Mr Sang.

Mr Metito, who is also the Kajiado South MP, said the Appeals Chamber judges should take into consideration the “acknowledgement” of the ASP on Kenya’s request in making its decision and and rule in favour of the Deputy President.

RECANTED EVIDENCE
Ms Besouda has in the past said the recanted evidence from five witnesses, who had disowned their own testimony is key to her case and this explains why Jubilee leaders have been pushing so hard to have Rule 68 withdrawn.

The prayer rallies raised political temperatures in the country towards the end of the year, especially after the controversial ruling to admit recanted evidence.

Jubilee leaders have even accused the court of politicising the case against Mr Ruto and his co-accused Mr Sang.

Although christened ‘prayer rallies’, the meetings have been theatres of ICC politics, with increased pressure on The Hague-based court to free the two suspects.

The cases are in connection with the 2007/2008 post-election violence which saw over 1,000 Kenyans killed and more than 600,000 displaced from their homes after the bungled presidential elections.