International Criminal Court summons Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, September 19, 2014 summoned Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta to appear in the court on October 8, 2014. Kenyatta and the Kenyan government have been charged with holding onto documents requested by prosecutors working on Kenyattas crimes against humanity trial. If Kenyatta does appear in October it will be the first time that he has appeared at the ICC. He has continued to argue during the ongoing trial that he is required to remain in Kenya to manage state affairs and fight the Al Shabaab group. Kenyattas lawyers have also continuously argued that the case should be dropped due to lack of evidence, and many African leaders have echoed this as well, accusing the ICC of focusing its investigations into global atrocities on Africa. Kenyatta has been in a great deal of legal trouble since he was charged with crimes against humanity for election related ethnic killings occurring in 2007. Earlier this month the ICC decided to adjourn the trial of Kenyatta indefinitely, with the trial resuming with Fridays summons. In February 2014 Kenyan Attorney General Githu Muigai told the ICC that Kenya would not turn over financial records of Kenyatta without a court order in compliance with Kenyan law. In October 2013 the African Union unanimously resolved that African heads of state should be immune from prosecution by the ICC. In May 2013 ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that Kenya must prove its ability to handle the case of Kenyatta before the ICC will drop the case. BY THE JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Saturday 20 September 2014 OTHER stories on ICC: online.wsj/articles/international-criminal-court-delays-trial-against-kenyas-president-1409925089
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 01:23:40 +0000
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