MP Ruto Wants Kenya's President and Prime Minister Charged by ICC

By Murithi Mutiga
Sunday Nation
November 7, 2010.

Eldoret North MP William Ruto wants the International Criminal Court to indict President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the roles he says they played in the post-election violence.

William Ruto

In a statement that could form the core of Mr Ruto’s defence at The Hague, one of the suspended minister’s lawyers says the process of securing justice would have no credibility if Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga are not charged.

“It is the general feeling and mood of the country that those with the highest responsibility be held to account for the loss of life and property,” Katwa Kigen said.

“In that regard the investigations should start with the President and the Prime Minister as the people fought because of them… before moving down the ladder to those who played various roles.”

Mr Ruto’s line of defence adds a new twist to the search for justice for the estimated 1,300 people who lost their lives in the orgy of violence that followed the controversial 2007 General Election.

By opting to present himself to prosecutors at The Hague, Mr Ruto appears to have thrown the top political leadership into a spin because the terms of any deal he might cut with the ICC are unclear.

Read the rest of this story here.

Comment: I am catching up on Kenyan political news in what is a relatively cool and wet Nairobi afternoon.

The other big news story is about a policeman who shot and killed 10 people in an apparent love triangle late last night in Siakago which is "90 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Nairobi."

See the story here.