Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-minister William Roto are due to unveil their alliance on Sunday.
Kenya would be forced to act on any arrest warrant issued by the ICC should the pair refuse to attend trial. [Reuters]
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| Two Kenyan leaders suspected of war crimes are reported to have entered into an alliance for the upcoming presidential elections in March. Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-minister William Roto are expected to unveil their alliance at a rally on Sunday at Nakuru, some 150km northwest of the capital Nairobi. Reports said Uhuru would run for president while Ruto would contest as his deputy. The move is seen by some as a sign of moving beyond Kenya's bitter ethnic hatred that erupted into bloody post-election violence. Both Uhuru and Ruto face charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their alleged role in having orchestrated post-election violence in 2007-2009 that killed at least 1,100 and displaced more than 600,000. Kenyatta faces five charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts, while Ruto faces three charges of crimes against humanity. Both have claimed their innocence, remain free and have promised to cooperate with the court. Kenya, as a signatory of the Rome Statute of the ICC, would be forced to act on any arrest warrant issued by the court should the pair refuse to attend trial. Paradoxical coincidence The ICC trials, set to begin on April 10, could coincide with the elections, set for March 4, but which potentially could enter a second round vote within a month. The pair received a boost this week after the unexpected withdrawal of a petition seeking a court ruling on whether they are eligible to run, as under a new constitution adopted in 2010 those holding public office and charged with a crime must step down. The violence shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of stability in east Africa when the then-opposition leader Raila Odinga accused President Mwai Kibaki of rigging his way to re-election. What began as political riots quickly turned into ethnic killings of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, which launched reprisal attacks, plunging Kenya into its worst wave of violence since independence in 1963. Despite efforts to heal the wounds of the ethnic killings four years ago, tensions still run deep between communities, with many key grievances that fed into the violence -- most notably land ownership rights -- still unresolved. Several presidential hopefuls are expected to unveil alliances ahead of a Tuesday deadline, including Kenyatta's expected main challenger, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, himself a former ally of Ruto. |