Retired Major-General Hussein Ali says ICC case against President Uhuru will collapse

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

Major-General Hussein Ali now says the case at the International Criminal Court against President Kenyatta will collapse and suggest witnesses who lied against the latter should be charged.

Ali, who was a police commissioner at the height of the post-election violence, and who was charged alongside Mr Kenyatta at the ICC for crimes against humanity, said President Kenyatta can now rest easy.

Charges at the ICC against Ali were dropped because of insufficient evidence.

“Under the rules of natural justice, you don’t charge a person and then you go around looking for witnesses. If you do not have evidence in a court of law, it goes without saying that the cases have collapsed…they should be terminated,” said Ali in an interview with the Standard on Saturday.

Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ali,  and Mr Francis Muthaura, the former head of civil service, had been charged jointly for crimes against humanity at the ICC following their alleged role in the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

“I found it curious that two of us –myself and Mr Muthaura—were acquitted because of lack of evidence and yet Mr Kenyatta remained. It was only natural that the cases will be terminated,” said the former police boss.

The ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has admitted that her cache of proof against President Kenyatta does not meet the high threshold required to sustain a case at the world criminal court based at The Hague in the Netherlands.

“This is not a public relations exercise. It is not a political process. It is a judicial process. And if there’s no evidence, then, there’s no case,” the former police boss maintained

Ali spoke just a day after Bensouda made the admission with a shocking revelation that one of the two key witnesses lied about having a first-hand knowledge about a meeting at State House allegedly attended by Mr Kenyatta to plan retaliation attacks in Nakuru and Naivasha.

“Perjury is a crime. Anyone who admits to have lied to court should be charged. The said witnesses owe Kenyans an explanation about why they lied. They should not be allowed to walk free,” said the former police boss.

As for the victims who lost property, relatives, and those who were raped, Ali said “he feels for them”.

“If there’s anyone who lived through the whole post-election violence, I did. We hosted most of the victims in police stations in the country. It will be inhuman for anyone not to feel for them. Nobody should go through what they have gone through and what they are still going through. I really feel for them,” said Ali.

While Ali noted that the judges at the ICC will decide on what happens to the case now that the prosecutor admitted to having inadequate evidence, he was almost sure that the matter will culminate in a termination of the case.

“I wish the President all the best (in the case). But the admission that there was no evidence against the President, has removed a huge burden from the President’s back. He can now concentrate on building the country,” said Ali.

If Mr Kenyatta’s case is terminated, the only two Kenyans who will be fighting to clear their names at the ICC over the post-election violence will be Deputy President William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua arap Sang’.

Former Cabinet Minister Henry Kosgey, who had been charged together with Ruto and Sang’ was acquitted because of lack of sufficient evidence to have them prosecuted at the highest court.