ICC judges confirm cases against four top Kenyans

Pre-trial Judges at International Criminal Court on Monday confirmed charges against four of the six Kenyan suspects claimed to have played the biggest role in the 2007 2008 post-election violence that took the country to the precipice of civil war.

In a majority decision, the judges confirmed charges against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

Charges against Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali were not confirmed after the Judges found insufficient grounds for sustaining the charges against them.

Judges Ekaterina Trendafilova and Cuno Tarfusser voted to the affirmative while Judge Hans-Peter Kaul dissented.

"After having thoroughly examined and analyzed individually and collectively all the evidence presented, the Chamber, by majority, decided to confirm the charges against four of the six suspects, as will be explained later in more detail.

"Judge Kaul appended a dissenting opinion in both cases. He maintains that the ICC is not competent because the crimes committed on the territory of the Republic of Kenya during the post‐election violence of 2007‐2008 in his view were serious common crimes under Kenyan criminal law, but not crimes against humanity as codified in Article 7 of the Rome Statute," said Judge Trendafilova who read out the ruling.

William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and journalist Joshua arap Sang each faced charges of murder, deportation or forcible transfer of the people, causing serious injury and persecution based on political affiliation.

ICC Prosecutor Moreno - Ocampo accused Mr Ruto and Mr Kosgey of planning attacks against PNU supporters as far back as December 2006.

The prosecutor claimed that Mr Sang used his radio programme to collect supporters and provide signals to members of the plan on when and where to attack.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo, in his application to the court, claimed that in response to the attacks, three “prominent PNU members and/or Government of Kenya officials Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali developed and executed a plan to attack perceived ODM supporters in order to keep the PNU in power.”