The defence teams of the accused persons have also been bombarding the court and the prosecution with hordes of applications challenging allegations levelled against them.
Not to mention the dramatic confirmation of charges hearings for Kenya Case 1 and 2 held in September 2011 where the defence teams alleged that the prosecution was using liars and criminals as witnesses to fix them.
It was also accused of bias in its selection of the suspects.
The ICC became the site of contestation and exhibited its internal complexities as the defence teams made efforts to prove innocence of their clients by tearing into the incriminating evidence brought to the fore.
The shield and defender of the ICC was its position and frequent reminder of its objectivity and thirst to give justice to the victims of the violence.
Efforts of the defence teams did not go without bearing fruit even at the post-confirmation stage.
After Fatou Bensouda succeeded Ocampo in June 2012, she first had to deal with the thorny issue of accepting that charges against one of the accused persons would be dropped even after a confirmation.
The case against Muthaura was dropped in March 2013 after the prosecutor informed the court that the sole witness who gave evidence that led to confirmation of charges against him had been withdrawn together with his evidence.
Muthaura was jointly accused of implementing a common plan with Kenyatta to commit crimes against humanity in Nakuru and Naivasha areas.
Kenyatta has now been left alone to bear the responsibility of solely implementing a common plan.
This of course did not go smoothly with Kenyatta’s defence which challenged the prosecution to explain how Kenyatta implemented a common plan on his own.
Trial Chamber V also tasked ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to explain the same concerns raised by the defence of Kenyatta.
But determined, Bensouda in her submission to the court explained that withdrawal of charges against one alleged indirect co-perpetrator does not automatically affect the other accused.
She further explained that one co-accused can be found not to be criminally responsible while the other is found responsible despite being jointly co-accused.
Out of the ‘Ocampo Six’ the ICC now has the ‘Bensouda Three’ committed to trial following the 2007-8 post election violence that claimed over 1,000 lives, led to displacements of hundreds of thousands of others and massive destruction of property.
Ruto and Sang start the journey of proving their innocence on September 10 while Kenyatta begins his trial on November 12.
The three have pledged to cooperate with the court even after Kenyatta was elected President of the Republic of Kenya and Ruto Deputy President.
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