President Ruto's ex-lawyer ousted as ICC prosecutor over sexual abuse claims

The International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan has been shown the door for sexual misconduct, ending his stint five years after his appointment.

The ICC indicated that it had taken note of the 125 Assembly of States Parties (ASP) decision.  "The Court will continue to attach the utmost importance to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful working environment for all personnel," the ICC said in a statement.

The ASP said that it was made by a majority, meaning that the decision was not a unanimous one.

“ At its meeting on 8 June 2026, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, by qualified majority, decided, in accordance with rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, to suspend the Prosecutor from duty with immediate effect pending the final decision of the Assembly of States Parties as the competent decision-maker. The Bureau emphasizes that this suspension is not an indication of the final outcome,” the statement published on the ICC website and sent to media houses read.

The bureau has a president, two vice-presidents and 18 members who are elected by the assembly for a three-year term. Its role is to oversee the management and acts as the ICC’s administrative body.

It indicated that its decision and all documents in relation to the issue would remain private.

Khan, who was President William Ruto’s lead lawyer during his trial at the Hague,has repeatedly denied the claims, which first cropped up two years ago. They centre a female colleague who alleged that he had engaged in coercive and non-consensual sexual behaviour over a period of time during work trips, his office and at his home.

Given to verbose and dropping phrases, Khan was elected by the Assembly of State Parties for a nine-year term, replacing Gambian Fatou Bensouda. The court’s first prosecutor was Louis Moreno Ocampo, who initiated the Kenyan cases.

His position put him at the centre of a storm with regard to the situation of the cases involving Kenya, which were still pending. Paul Gicheru had just surrendered to the court. He had been accused of witness interference by Khan’s predecessor. Gicheru’s witness interference case related to Khan’s former client, Ruto.

In 2023, the then Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party lawyer Paul Mwangi wrote to the Hague over his ‘conflict of interest.’

Mr Mwangi, in his letter to Hague’s head of Independent Oversight Mechanism, claimed that Khan’s alleged conduct in Kenya created little confidence in victims of international crimes that they will get justice when the day comes for them to present their grievances.

 Azimio had threatened to present petitions against government officials over the killing by the police.

At the same time, he alleged that the ICC prosecutor and his wife run charity endeavours in Kenya.

However, alleged that despite the engagements and the recent honorary doctorate conferment, the ICC prosecutor had formally recused himself from the Kenyan cases.

 “Until the 8th of August 2023 as will be narrated latter in this petition, there has been no official recusal of Mr. Khan from the four pending matters stated above nor any known application on his part to the Presidency of The Court to be excused from the situation in Kenya as is contemplated by Article 42(6) of The Rome Statutes,” claims Mwangi in his letter dated August 15, 2023.

Both President Ruto and Raila Odinga camps had vowed to take their battle to the ICC.

On one hand, Azimio openly claimed that they had a collection of videos, pictures and  victims evidence to profile police brutality. They alleged that the authority to kill and maim was from top Kenya Kwanza government officials.

On the other hand, Kenya Kwanza also vowed to take the war back to Azimio’s doorstep.  A group that claimed to be victims of anti-government protests wanted ICC to come for Raila and former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Their claim mirrored the statements that key Ruto allies including, his then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had been fronting, to pile the blame on Raila and Uhuru for the loss of lives and destruction of property during the protests.

In the letter written to the ICC, the group wanted the Azimio leaders to be held accountable for allegedly attempting to cause political instability in the country.

Through their lawyer, Adrian Kamotho Njenga, the group alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Kenya in a letter addressed to Khan following the anti-government protests.

The letter dated July 28, 2023 claimed the group is in possession of volumes of evidence against the Azimio principals.

Khan beat three other candidates by garnering 72 votes out of the 123 member states and was largely pushed by Kenya. He beat Fergal Gaynor of Ireland, who was the victims’ lawyer during the Uhuru-Ruto trial.

Gaynor managed 42 votes, Spain’s Carlos Castresana Fernandez (five votes) and Francesco Lo Voi of Italy with three votes. One member did not vote.

Khan would have sailed through unopposed but Mauritius and Spain placed a last-minute hurdle by filing objections against him. Mauritius was aggrieved by the fact that he is a British national and the UK had vowed not to abide by the ruling on Chagos Island’s sovereignty by The Hague-based court.

The then, Kenya’s ambassador to Netherlands Lawrence Lenayapa opposed Gaynor, saying he had served as legal representative of parties in active cases.

“It would be prudent for State Parties to settle for a candidate who would not have to recuse himself from some of the most challenging cases pending before the court,” Lenayapa wrote.

“This would undoubtedly weaken the stature of the office of the prosecutor.”

Gaynor was the victims’ representative when the ICC withdrew crimes against humanity charges against President Uhuru Kenyatta. His statement, after the withdrawal, may be the reason why Kenya was jittery over his qualification. He said the decision was a disappointment to over 2,000 victims of crimes committed during the 2007/08 post-election chaos.

“A prosecutor should command the respect of the judges, inspire the confidence of its own staff and build the confidence of states and victims. At a time when the court is faced with many difficulties, we need to work together to elect a candidate who will strengthen and build confidence in the office of the prosecutor,” Lenayapa said.

Kenya also wanted two more shortlisted candidates – Susan Okalany, who is a High Court judge and Richard Roy, a judge in the same court – disqualified. The Ambassador said Roy could not sit as a prosecutor as the current deputy prosecutor was from his country, Canada.

Khan has been leading a team set up to investigate allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Islamic State in Iraq.

His first task was to save the reputation of the court and enhance its acceptance as more countries view it as political machinery. As the court’s foremost ambassador, he will have to debunk the claim harped by defense lawyers, including himself, that the ICC is a political tool.

There was also the question of Israel-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and the relationship with the United States, which he will have to crack. Former US President Donald Trump slapped Bensouda with a travel ban and assets freeze over an inquiry on US forces’ war crimes in Afghanistan.

At the opening of Ruto’s trial on September 9, 2013, Khan described the investigations into the Kenyan cases as “exceptionally deficient” and submissions by Bensouda “vacuous.”