Still, many in Kenya are sceptical the trials will result in convictions: several witnesses have pulled out, possibly due to intimidation.
A cartoon in Kenya’s Standard newspaper this week showed a worried ICC prosecutor holding a bucket marked “witnesses” riddled with holes and leaking water.
If the cases collapse, the accused will likely return home as heroes.
In May, the African Union demanded the ICC drop the cases, accusing the court of anti-African bias.
Kenyan lawmakers also backed a motion on Thursday to pull out of the ICC.
“The defendants will do all they can to turn the unfolding events to their political advantage,” said Kenya’s former anti-corruption chief John Githongo.
“So we have two cases – a judicial one in The Hague, and a political one in the court of public opinion in Kenya,” Githongo added.
Should the accused be convicted or fail to turn up and trigger arrest warrants, Kenya would face diplomatic isolation.
“Kenya is a close ally of the West and an exceedingly important country for the whole of east and northeast Africa,” said Richard Dowden of Britain’s Royal African Society.
“The worst-case scenario is that they reject the court and refuse to go – the Americans and Europeans would be obliged to put Kenya under sanctions.”
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