ICC Case Against Kenya's President-Elect Still On

Judie Kaberia of AllAfrica.com is reporting that International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda maintains that the decision to drop charges against former head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura has no impact on her case against Kenya’s President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta. Kaberia writes:

“In her submission to the court, she explained that withdrawal of charges against one alleged indirect co-perpetrator does not automatically affect the other accused, so Kenyatta’s case remains.

She says according to the Rome Statute: ‘Article 25 (3) demonstrates that the legal status of one alleged indirect co-perpetrator has no bearing on the guilt or innocence of another alleged co-perpetrator.’

‘In accordance with this Statute, a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the court if that person: (a) commits such a crime, whether as an individual, jointly with another or through another person, regardless of whether that other person is criminally responsible.’

She said although the two were charged jointly, it did not imply that both have to be criminally responsible.

Bensouda 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.”

The ICC has been under scrutiny since dropping the charges against President-elect Kenyatta’s alleged co-conspirator Muthaura for his role in post-election violence, which many read as a signal that charges against Kenyatta would be dropped as well. Kenyatta’s defense team argued that since the two were jointly accused, the charges against their client should also be dropped. ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda refutes the claim, saying the cases against both men are very different.

Read more at AllAfrica.com.

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