Speaking during the thanksgiving prayer at the Afraha Stadium, the Head of State declared that the country had closed the chapter on the post election violence/MIKE KARIUKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 17 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed that no Kenyan will ever again face trial at the International Criminal Court over the post election violence.
Speaking during the thanksgiving prayer at the Afraha Stadium, the Head of State declared that the country had closed the chapter on the post election violence.
His statement followed the decision of the Hague based court to issue arrest warrants against three Kenyans accused of witness interference.
“To our friends out there who think that they can come and disturb us here in our country, as for us, we have closed that chapter and there is nowhere else we are going,” President Kenyatta stated.
“There is nobody else we will allow to be taken anywhere. If someone breaks the law, we are going to deal with them here using our courts. I do not want to see another Kenyan treading the route that we took,” he said.
He pointed out that the country’s judicial system would deal with the three Kenyans wanted by ICC over claims of witness tampering
“If we have our issues, the solution is here in Kenya. Those who will come to look for us, let me tell them that we are not returning there. We have closed that chapter,” he said. “We thank our lawyers for their good work and now we want them to go help others because we are not returning there.”
President Kenyatta’s case was terminated by ICC judges after prosecutors had listed him as among those who bore the greatest responsibility to the violence that left 1,300 people dead and half a million more displaced.
Former journalist Walter Barasa, lawyer Paul Gicheru and Phillip Bett are wanted by the ICC for alleged witness interference in the cases against Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang before they cases were terminated on April 5.
Former Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, ex Minister Henry Kosgey and former police boss Major-General (rtd) Hussein Ali who had also been charged for their alleged role in the violence before the charges were dropped recounted their ordeal during the ICC trial.
Speaking for the first time since they were acquitted by the ICC, Kosgey and Ali said they were traumatised by their ordeal.
“I have not spoken for three years because my brothers were still at the ICC. In the fullness of time, the ex- Ocampo Six have been vindicated,” he stated.
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