Kanu welcomes verdict on DP William Ruto and Joshua arap Sang in ICC trial

Kanu yesterday welcomed the termination of cases against deputy President William Ruto and Joshua Sang.

Party Secretary General Nick Salat described the verdict by the International Criminal Court judges as a big relief for the country.

Mr Salat sent a congratulatory message saying the families of the deputy president and Mr Sang had been through untold suffering for the last seven years.

"It has been a tough fight full of trials and tribulations and the majority decision of the Chamber has brought down the curtain on one of the most explosive political cases in this part of the world. This case had held the entire nation of Kenya hostage and we are glad this anxiety is now behind us," said Mr Salat.

Kanu, however, warned that although the case, which had shackled many communities had been terminated, they now needed to free themselves so that the ghost of ICC could be exorcised.

Political undertones

"The ghost of ICC should not be tolerated or there will be no gain if we celebrate the end of the cases only for our communities to continue being enslaved by the political undertones that defined us when the cases were alive," read the statement by Kanu.

Salat said the country should not forget the post-election violence victims who were still in pain and crying for justice.

The party said it stood for genuine national healing and reconciliation to ensure Kenyans go to next year's General Election when they are at peace with each other.

He said that as part of the national healing process, the families of those who lost their loved ones should be adequately compensated by the State, "while those who lost their entire sources of income should be assisted to get back on their feet in a transparent manner."

The secretary general added that to ensure the Judiciary is not compromised in effecting this, there was need to weed out all forms of political interference in the Judicial Service Commission as a means to safeguard its independence.

"We need a new sustained audit of judicial state officers to ensure undue influence is not exerted on judges and magistrates," said Salat.

He further called for the overhaul of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission before the next polls. "We must not forget the reason why Kenyans turned against each other was largely the perception that the then electoral body was biased in favour of the incumbent government," said Salat.