President Uhuru Kenyatta has received the news of the withdrawal of the ICC charges against him on Friday with excitement.
“I am very keen to run to my wife right now and tell her what is happening,” Uhuru said.
“As they say, one case down, two more to go,” he further said, referring to the two remaining cases against his deputy William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang.
“To be sincere, we are very excited,” Uhuru added.
Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohammed said the government will pursue the dropping of the charges against Ruto and Sang with the same “energy and passion.”
The court did not, however, acquit the President of the charges as his lawyers had requested. War crimes prosecutors said fresh allegations could be filed if new evidence surfaces.
Judges at the Hague-based court had on Wednesday given the prosecution a week to decide whether to proceed with the case against Uhuru or withdraw the charges.
“The evidence has not improved to such an extent that Uhuru’s alleged criminal responsibility can be proven,” prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a court filing.
Uhuru is accused of instigating ethnic violence after the 2007 general election.
Prosecutors have said he used his political power to obstruct their investigation, especially since becoming president last year.
Uhuru’s lawyers have denied the accusations but there was no immediate reaction from him.
Victims’ counsel, Fergal Gaynor, said in a statement on Friday that the withdrawal of the charges will disappoint the estimated 20,000 victims of the crimes against humanity.
“It is regrettable that the victims have received almost nothing from the entire ICC process,” Gaynor said.
- the-star.co.ke
