Deputy President William Ruto criticises case a stone-throw away from ICC trial chamber

Tuesday, October 15th 2013, By FELIX OLICK

Deputy President William Ruto Tuesday escalated the Kenyan onslaught on the International Criminal Court ( ICC) by attacking the prosecution case from a venue a stone-throw away from the trial chamber.
Ruto called a press conference and announced that Kenya has formally made an application to the United Nations Security Council seeking the deferral of the cases against him and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
This is following Saturday’s African Union resolution urging the Security Council to suspend the trial of the Kenyan leaders at the ICC.
Prosecution failed
Ruto called for the termination of the case against him, saying the prosecution had failed miserably in its investigations.
He addressed the press at Movenpick Hotel, a short distance from the ICC building, when the court rose for the lunch break. He sat through the afternoon session after the press conference.
The Deputy President said the ICC stance on the conduct of their cases had forced them to seek the UN intervention.

The prosecution, he claimed, has been buying, bribing and manipulating witnesses to incriminate them in the violence that followed the disputed 2007 presidential vote.
“It’s abundantly clear to us and that’s why we have filed several applications that this case as it runs should be terminated. The prosecution has failed miserably in its responsibility to discharge the mandate assigned to them under the Rome Statute,” Ruto said.
The position mirrored the application by President Uhuru last week urging the stoppage of his trial, due to start on November 12, citing illegal conduct by the prosecution.
The President’s lawyers claimed the prosecution and its emissaries had bribed witnesses to give favourable testimony, fabricated evidence and tampered with possible defence witnesses.
Ruto explained he had hoped to clear his name in court if the ICC had been flexible in striking a balance between his obligations to the court and his responsibilities as Kenya’s Deputy President.
The court’s insistence that the accused must be present in the courtroom throughout the trial had to be challenged because they had a government to run, he added.
“We believe that there are legitimate reasons for the deferral of this case to give Kenya the best possible chance to handle the serious challenges that exist in our region, in our country, a matter that is of global concern such as terrorism,” Ruto said, endorsing the AU resolution to have the cases suspended.
Ruto said he prefers being excused from continuous attendance of his trial so the case is heard to its logical end because he doesn’t want to be perceived as “short-changing the system”.
“I want to state here, clear and categorically that it’s our preference to follow the route that has already been agreed to by the court,” he said.
“It would not be necessary for us to pursue issues of deferral if we can get issues of excusal sorted out because indeed as I have said, that is our preference,” Ruto added.
ICC judges had allowed Ruto to be absent from sessions of his trial but the prosecutor contested the ruling and won, but an appeal on the matter is pending. 
“We are people who believe in the rule of law and we want to go ahead with accountability. We don’t want to shortchange the system, we want this to proceed to its logical conclusion because we know that, ultimately, if this is about fairness, if this is about justice, we would be cleared,” Ruto added.
But he maintained that without the excusal, a deferral is necessary to enable him and President Uhuru deal with the terrorism threat facing the country after terrorists last month killed over 60 people during the raid on Westgate Shopping Mall. 
The Deputy President maintained that the threat posed by al Shabaab, which claimed responsibility for the attack, and al-Qaeda, is a threat to regional and global security.
Instructively, Kenya’s petition to the UN Security Council is based on Article 16 of the Rome Statute, which establishes the ICC, and requires the court to suspend investigations and prosecutions on grounds of threats to peace and security. 
Ruto said Kenya is under threat because of its incursion into Somalia, which he described as the haven of the rag tag militia. He said Kenya was waiting for the Security Council to take a decision on the African Union resolution for deferral of the cases. 
“I think the AU was very clear and that’s why they decided that there will be a five-member Heads of State delegation that will pursue the matter of deferral of the Kenyan case with the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
Ruto was flanked by his wife Rachel, daughter June, Kenyan Ambassador to The Netherlands Makena Muchiri, Kericho Senator Charles Keter, Alfred Keter (MP Nandi Hills) and Stephen Sang (Senator Nandi). 
Others were his co-accused journalist Joshua Sang and his lawyer Katwa Kigen.
Ruto’s defence counsel Karim Khan however skipped the event.
State House has lately given indications that President Uhuru may not fly to the ICC, insisting that no sitting Head of State can be prosecuted.
Scathing attack
On Saturday, the President launched a scathing attack on the ICC and Western powers, saying they had teamed up to humiliate African leaders.
While addressing the African Union extraordinary summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President accused the court of acting on the whims of European governments against the sovereignty of African states.
It was during this extraordinary summit that the AU resolved that President Uhuru should not show up for his trial at The Hague on November 12. The AU expects the UN Security Council to have addressed the matter by that date.