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Outrage over ICC call for Deputy President William Ruto replacement
Updated Saturday, September 28th 2013 at 12:42 GMT +3  |
| Deputy President William Ruto addresses the press on arrival from the International Criminal Court at the Hague where he is facing charges of crimes against humanity. [PHOTO: FILE] |
BY THE COUNTIES TEAM
Leaders in the Rift Valley and Mt Kenya have reacted angrily at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) for suggesting that Deputy President William Ruto be replaced during the time he is on trial.
Even though it was not a formal application, the fact that the prosecution was suggesting that President Uhuru Kenyatta should swear in an acting deputy president was enough to convince the residents that the ICC was up to no good.
The Jubilee leaders said the suggestions from ICC Prosecution counsel Anton Steynberg proved their argument from 2011 that "the ICC cases facing Uhuru and Ruto are political" and were meant to stop them rising to power.
Chepalungu MP Paul Bii said the suggestion by the Office of The Prosecutor was a confirmation that the case against the Kenyans has always been political.
"Kenya is a sovereign state with a constitution that cannot be made subordinate. This case should be disbanded as it goes on reminding us what we had forgotten and raising temperatures.
"There is concern already in the Rift Valley that the trials could reopen old wounds and undo reconciliation efforts by communities that once fought each other in deadly battles," said Bii.
His Eldama Ravine counterpart Moses Lessonet added that Uhuru and his deputy both have powers to govern the country.
"The ICC prosecutor should not be blind to these facts. The country's leadership is governed by the Constitution and that must go concurrently with the Rome Statue," said Lessonet.
Lessonet said the ICC allowed the two leaders to take part in the March 4 General Election and the court was aware that the two might be elected as president and deputy president.
"The office of the prosecutor should not be blind to the fact that the two leaders were given a constitutional mandate by majority of Kenyans who voted for them," he said.
At the same time, Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng'eno said that Kenya's constitution does not provide for an acting deputy vice president position so it was important for the ICC to allow Ruto to return to the country to help the president manage the situation.
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