ICC: Raila, Ruto in war of words as Rift MPs ask the PM to resign

The Eldoret North MP said he fully intended to be at the trial hearings in the case facing him and one co-accused Joshua Sang.

"We went to The Hague voluntarily even before the cases started. We are not about to find shortcuts to subvert justice," he said. Instead, he accused the PM of trying to whip up sentiment against the ICC accused for political reasons.

"What law, other than that of the jungle, does Raila subscribe to?" he asked. "He believes in employing unorthodox means to eliminate the competition."

Ruto described himself as law-abiding, saying it was Raila who was "a dictator who did not believe in the rule of law". He added that had the PM been one of the accused facing charges over the post-election violence, he would have been quick to condemn the ICC.

"The ICC would not have been good had he (Raila) been judged," Ruto stated. "But now he is pushing for our arrests and jailing so that he has smooth sailing in his quest for the presidency."

The MP repeated his claim Raila was the principal beneficiary of the post-election violence by securing a power-sharing deal after the dispute over the 2007 election’s presidential results.

"Raila does not believe in anything that does not favour him as he rides on rigged polls and unconstitutional means to leadership," he said. "It is the violence that rocked the country that transformed Raila from a presidential election loser to a Prime Minister and a co-principal."

Raila’s secretariat has argued Raila was an election winner who gave up the presidency to secure the power-sharing deal.

They also pointed to 100 acres of controversially secured land Ruto is surrendering to an internally displaced person as proof the MP was a more direct beneficiary of the violence.

Political Combat

The method of political rebuttal Raila has chosen is similar to that deployed by the White House recently in the 2012 presidential election.

US President Barack Obama’s re-election team has put together a ‘Truth Team’ dedicated to providing supporters with information on the president’s record and dirt on his Republican rivals.

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