UN to vote on Kenyan ICC deferral amid Fixing Allegations

The United Nations Security Council is expected to take a vote on Friday, November 15 to determine whether the case against Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto can be suspended for a year. This was revealed by Rwanda’s envoy to the UN, Richard Gasana. The move follows sustained pressure by the African Union to have this vote taken following their draft resolutions during the AU summit. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang are facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC.

On November 1, the International Criminal Court allowed Kenya to file submissions explaining the decision to withdraw from the ICC through a motion passed by Kenya’s Parliament. “The chamber is currently considering the issue of the impact of the debate and resolutions of the Kenyan Parliament regarding Kenya’s status as a state party to the Rome Statute on the safety, physical and psychological well-being of witnesses testifying in the present case,” explained Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji who heads ICC’s trial chamber bench. The ICC also announced a delay of the President’s case till early February 2014, while Mr. Ruto and Joshua Sang’s cases are still on.

On the domestic front, Kenya’s Parliament has recently witnessed blame games with calls for the resignation of senior government officials for allegedly framing Mr. Ruto and engineering his indictment at the ICC. Interestingly, the same officials are key members in the ruling Jubilee coalition to which Mr. Ruto belongs. Senator Charles Keter, one of Mr. Ruto’s closest allies, has called for the resignation and prosecution of the senior officials who served in former President Kibaki’s government for the ICC woes facing the Deputy President.

The UN vote to be taken on Friday requires 9 out of the 15-member Security Council to pass the resolution and the impact of the outcome will play a role in determining the direction of the Kenyan cases.