The The International Criminal Court building at The Hague. Judges
Kuniko Ozaki, Robert Fremr and Geoffrey Henderson Monday threw out a
request by President Uhuru Kenyatta to be acquitted of crimes against
humanity. Instead, they said his trial should open on October 7, 2014
and also ordered the government to release his financial records to
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. PHOTO/FILE
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s request to be
acquitted of crimes against humanity suffered a major setback Monday
after judges threw it out.
Instead, they said his trial
should open on October 7, 2014 and also ordered the government to
release his financial records to International Criminal Court Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda.
Ms Bensouda had asked the court to
postpone the case indefinitely and to give her time to gather more
evidence, a request which was declined.
The judges ordered her to send a fresh request to Kenya for the information she is seeking on Mr Kenyatta’s wealth.
Judges
Kuniko Ozaki, Robert Fremr and Geoffrey Henderson warned the government
against using delaying tactics in producing the evidence requested by
the prosecutor, saying two years is a long period.
The chamber refused to grant an open ended postponement but made orders which make the October date decisive.
“The Chamber finds, inter alia, that a limited adjournment should be granted,” the judges said.
“This
adjournment is of fixed duration and for the specific purpose of
providing an opportunity for compliance by the Kenyan government with
the outstanding cooperation request.”
The government
will now be expected to obtain and hand over to the ICC prosecutor Mr
Kenyatta’s financial records, including bank accounts, transactions and
other assets which Ms Bensouda hopes could provide evidence to support
her case against him.
“The Prosecution is directed to,
within two weeks of the date of this decision, provide the Kenyan
Government with an updated request, which is based upon the Records
Request and is tailored to reflect the items that remain of specific
relevance to the charges,” they ruled.
They directed
the government, in a period of two weeks, to inform the prosecutor of
any problems stopping them from providing the President’s wealth
records.
To ensure this happens, they directed the
prosecutor and the government to find options within the Constitution
and other pieces of law which will make it possible for the records to
be submitted.
Ms Bensouda and the government were urged
to ensure the process is executed “in good faith” to ensure that any
difficulties that may arise are resolved without delay.
“In
the event of genuine and irreconcilable differences between the
Prosecution and the Kenyan Government, or any matter otherwise requiring
resolution, the Chamber stresses that it is to be promptly seized of
the matter” they said.
The Chamber now wants to be
updated of the progress after every two months and fixed a status
conference on July 9 “to provide an update on the status of the
execution of the Revised Request, any consultations, and any other
relevant issues”.
They rejected arguments by Attorney
General Githu Muigai that the Constitution, the CBK Act, the
International Crimes Act and other related laws do not allow the
government to submit Mr Kenyatta’s financial records to The Hague.
The
government, in fact, they ruled was under obligation to produce the
records and should not have used delaying tactics to fail in its duties.
The AG, they said, should have sought to resolve the
matter with Ms Bensouda. “In light of the submissions made, the Chamber
finds that this has not occurred,” the judges said.
Nairobi
lawyer Ashford Muriuki said the prosecution had won the battle but said
that the judges had only “postponed the day of reckoning.”
Mr Kenyatta’s trial had initially been set for February 5.
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