The International Criminal Court (ICC) has terminated the investigation into President William Ruto’s alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya.
Ruto was a Member of Parliament at the time and was one of the six suspects charged by the ICC. The other five were Henry Kosgey, Joshua Arap Sang, Uhuru Kenyatta, Hussein Ali, and Francis Muthaura. All of them had their cases dropped for lack of evidence, except for Ruto, whose case remained active until Tuesday, November 28, 2023.
In a statement, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said that she had decided to end the investigation after assessing the available information.
She took over the matter after Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who had been Ruto’s lawyer before his appointment as ICC prosecutor, recused himself in 2021.
“After assessing all the information available to me at this time, I have decided to conclude the investigation phase in the situation in Kenya,” Prosecutor Shameem said.
“I have reached this decision after considering the specific facts and circumstances of this situation. Accordingly, the Office will not pursue additional cases into the alleged criminal responsibility of other persons.”
In 2019, former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda blamed the collapse of the Kenyan cases on “the autocratic leadership style of Luis Gabriel Moreno Ocampo.”
The ICC chief prosecutor withdrew charges of crimes against humanity against President Uhuru Kenyatta in December 2014, citing insufficient evidence.
Fatou Bensouda said the court had denied her more time to gather more proof. “The evidence has not improved to such an extent that Mr Kenyatta’s responsibility can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ms. Bensouda said.
In April 2016, the ICC also terminated the case against Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang, who were accused of involvement in the post-election violence that erupted after the 2007 presidential elections in Kenya.
The court said there was insufficient evidence to convict them of crimes against humanity. The violence left 1,200 dead and at least 600,000 displaced.
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