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Uhuru back in charge as Kenya’s President

Kenyatta outside the ICC on Wednesday/PSCU

Kenyatta outside the ICC on Wednesday/PSCU

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 8 – Uhuru Kenyatta is back in charge as Kenya’s President.

Kenyatta took over the reins of power on Wednesday evening, according to State House.

“Legal instrument appointing DP Acting President expired this evening at 6pm Nairobi time. HE the President has resumed substantive duties after attending ICC status conference as private citizen,” Kenyatta’s spokesman Manoah Esipisu said.

Kenyatta handed over power to his deputy William Ruto on Monday after he confirmed that he was going to the International Criminal Court as an individual.

Using powers given to him under Article 147 of the Constitution, the President appointed Ruto to be the Acting President during his absence.

“Let it not be said that I’m attending the status conference as the President of Kenya. Nothing warrants my being in court… I will go to The Hague on Wednesday not as President of Kenya. I invoke article 147 by appointing Deputy President William Ruto as acting President of Kenya,” he said.

He explained that he arrived at the decision to travel to The Hague as an individual to ensure he preserved the sovereignty of Kenya and its democracy.

“I have chosen not to put the sovereignty of this nation on trial. I received notice to attend to a status conference at the ICC. This is not a time for us to be tense, it is time for us to be proud of the democracy we have built,” he said.

In his address to Parliament, the Head of State took time to explain to MPs how he has cooperated with the ICC since the time he was named as a suspect in the post election violence.

The President said he was however surprised that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was still clinging onto his case despite having told the court that she does not have evidence against him.

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“I have cooperated with the Prosecutor to assist in establishing the truth at all material times. I have not interfered with the ICC prosecutor’s investigations; my government has cooperated fully. When the prosecutor admitted that the evidence was not enough to proceed with the case, I expected that the case would be dropped,” he asserted.

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