ICC Withdraws Uhuru Kenyatta Charges

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has denounced the case against him at
the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has now been dropped,
calling it "obviously deficient" and a "travesty".

Mr Kenyatta said he felt "vindicated" that crimes against humanity
charges had been withdrawn.

He had been indicted in connection with post-election ethnic violence
in Kenya in 2007-08, in which 1,200 people died.

Prosecutors said the Kenyan government had impeded their investigation.

They accused it of refusing to hand over documentary evidence vital to
the case and said potential witnesses had been threatened and
intimidated.

'Bribed'

Mr Kenyatta said he was "excited" and "relieved" that the case was over.

"My conscience is absolutely clear," he said, adding that his case had
been "rushed there without proper investigation".

"Just as the ICC failed me, it has also failed the victims of the
2007-2008 post-election violence," Mr Kenyatta said.

"They were killed, maimed, displaced, dispossessed and utterly
traumatised. I have been victimised, libelled and senselessly profiled
by the same defective process."

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said her government would try to
have two other similar cases thrown out including one involving Deputy
President William Ruto.

Supporters of Mr Kenyatta took to the streets of Nairobi to celebrate

Mr Kenyatta said he had been victimised by the ICC and was relieved it
was now over

"As they say, one case down, two more to go," Mr Kenyatta said on Twitter.

He has denied inciting ethnic violence following the disputed 2007
elections in order to secure victory for then-President Mwai Kibaki.

Mr Kenyatta won Kenya's presidential elections in 2013 with the
backing of Mr Kibaki, rallying nationalist support by accusing the
Dutch-based court of meddling in Kenya's affairs.

Over the last six years, ICC cases have become a political chess game
in Kenya. When Uhuru Kenyatta and one-time rival William Ruto joined
forces to win elections last year, they decided to play the issue to
their advantage.

The bitter rivalry between their communities, which often degenerated
into violent clashes, was forgotten. The two had a clear message, one
of galvanising the country to forgive and forget the past.

But the overriding factor was that they were victims of an
international process - as Mr Ruto, too, was accused of orchestrating
the violence that followed the elections in 2007 when they had been on
opposing sides.

With the dropping of the charges against Mr Kenyatta, some of the
victims may feel it makes a mockery of justice.

But the two politicians are sticking together. Deputy President
William Ruto tweeted: "The truth has set you free," and Mr Kenyatta
called him "indispensable", saying he looked "forward to the day when
we shall not have the distractions of the trials, so that we can
continue delivering our transformational agenda to the people of
Kenya".

However, this romance is glued together by the ICC, and analysts say
if Mr Ruto is not vindicated by the court, where his trial is ongoing,
then a political storm may determine the future of Kenya.

He was the first head of state to appear before the court, after he
was charged in 2012.

The prosecution repeatedly asked for more time to build its case,
saying witnesses had been bribed and intimidated, and the Kenyan
government had refused to hand over documents vital to the case.

On Wednesday, the ICC gave prosecutors a week to decide whether to
pursue their case or withdraw charges, saying further delays would be
"contrary to the interests of justice".

But on Friday prosecutors said the evidence had "not improved to such
an extent that Mr Kenyatta's alleged criminal responsibility can be
proven beyond reasonable doubt".

The BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague said the decision was a huge blow
to prosecutors.

Many observers had seen the case against Mr Kenyatta as the biggest
test in the court's history, she says.

Mr Kenyatta (l) said he would now try to have the case against his
deputy, William Ruto (r), dropped

About 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the
post-election violence

The main prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, made plain her dismay at having
to withdraw charges, saying there had been "a steady and relentless
stream of false media reports... an unprecedented campaign on social
media to expose the identity of protected witnesses [and] concerted
and wide-ranging efforts to harass, intimidate and threaten
individuals who would wish to be witnesses".

She said the case had required the help of the Kenyan government, but
this was "not provided".
--BBC