A senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) declared on Monday the termination of investigations into post-election violence in Kenya after the 2007 elections.
Nazhat Shameen Khan, the ICC’s deputy chief prosecutor, made the decision, concluding a 13-year legal process involving prominent Kenyan politicians.
In 2010, the ICC initiated investigations into the violence that occurred in Kenya after the elections, resulting in 1,300 deaths and displacing 600,000 people.
Initially, six individuals, including former and current Kenyan presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, faced charges of crimes against humanity, such as murder and deportation.
Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda withdrew charges against Kenyatta in 2014, and in 2016, the case against Ruto was halted due to weak prosecution evidence.
Lack of evidence led to the collapse of the case against all six suspects, prompting Bensouda to attribute the failure to a campaign of victim and witness intimidation.
In response, a new probe into witness intimidation and bribery was launched, with Karim Khan taking over as chief prosecutor in 2021.
Khan, who was Ruto’s defense lawyer, recused himself from the Kenya investigations, emphasizing the challenges posed by witness intimidation.
Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru, surrendering to the ICC in 2020, faced a dropped witness bribery case after news of his death emerged last year.
Philip Bett and Walter Barasa, two suspects in the intimidation and bribery case, remain at large and face charges before the court.
Despite ongoing cases, on Monday, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nazhat Shameen Khan announced the conclusion of further investigations into post-election violence in Kenya.
In a statement, Khan stated, “I have reached this decision after considering the specific facts and circumstances of this situation,” declaring the office’s decision not to pursue additional cases.
