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Hague aside, Kenyatta can run

February 15, 2013

A court in Kenya has ruled to allow Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential candidacy despite allegations of crimes against humanity. He stands accused in The Hague of orchestrating violence that killed 1,100 people in 2007.

https://p.dw.com/p/17elq
A poster for Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Kenya's High Court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to deny Kenyatta, Kenya's former finance minister and son of the country's founding president, the chance to run in the March 4 election.

Activists had petitioned to exclude Kenyatta and his running mate, William Rutto, implicated as well in the rapes and deaths, from the ticket, arguing that the pair would not be able to successfully run a country while simultaneously defending themselves in The Hague.

The judges ruled that only the Supreme Court could make such a decision. The organizations opposed to the candidacy would have to file a new application to advance the case to the next judicial level.

Kenyatta is accused with three others of helping to incite deadly violence that displaced hundreds of thousands after the 2007 presidential election. Nevertheless he remains a leading candidate in this year's vote.

Just three weeks away, the election will be the first since the disputed results in December 2007 led to the brutal fighting and attacks.

mkg/ccp (Reuters, AFP)