President Elect in Kenya urges ICC to drop charges against him

 Uhuru Kenyatta, who was elected president in Kenya earlier this month, also faces charges by the International Criminal Court for allegedly committing crimes against humanity. His charges, which were confirmed in January 2012, include murder, deportation or forcible transfer, rape, persecution, and other inhumane acts during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in the country, when Kenyatta served as Minister of Finance. Charges were dropped against Kenyatta’s co-accused, Francis Kirimi Muthaura, former Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya. The charges were withdrawn due to a discredited witness who allegedly accepted bribes.

The ICC’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said charges against Kenyatta would not be dropped. The post-election in violence in 2007 and 2008, of which Kenyatta is accused of stimulating, resulted in the death of 1,200 Kenyans. In the 2007 election, incumbent Mwai Kibaki was announced as president and both the opposition party and international community claimed there was election fraud. Protests turned violent and there were ongoing clashes between police and demonstrators. Kenyatta allegedly funded a militia that conducted retaliatory attacks against supporters of Kibaki. He denies the charges and will stand trial in July.