North Rift leaders want ICC, UN Security Council to defer Uhuru, Ruto cases

By Michael Wesonga

KENYA: A forum of North Rift leaders wants the ICC to support the ongoing healing and reconciliation efforts in the country.

The leaders want The Hague-based court to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to be tried in absentia.

The leaders strongly back the African Union resolution and have urged the ICC and the United Nations Security Council to either defer the cases or the hearings continue without the two appearing.

They consequently want an apology from Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for undermining Kenya’s sovereignty by asking Kenyans to elect new leaders.

Retired Major John Sei, chairman of the Kalenjin Council of Elders, advised ICC African party states to seek withdrawal or amendment against appearance of heads of state like common criminals.

“The ICC must realise that they have subjected Kenyans to deep and severe indignity by parading our leaders before the court like common offenders,” he lamented.

Sei stated it was the wish of Kenyans that their president does not make a single appearance before the court, not even the opening and closing sessions, as was intimated by the court. He further termed the court’s move to hide the identity of the witnesses as an exercise in futility. “The witnesses come from families, they have brothers and sisters incidentally known to us and there was therefore no need to hide their identity,” he explained.

Albert Githuka, chairman of the Kikuyu Elders for Peace Initiative cautioned North Rift residents from entertaining rumours doing rounds aimed at disrupting peace.

“I want to tell the country and the world that we have made a lot of peace in the county considered a highly volatile area, attaining significant gains and that is why investors have seen the need to come down here,” he noted.