KENYA: Victims of post-election violence in Kenya follow ICC trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto

Record ID: 362709

  • Title: KENYA: Victims of post-election violence in Kenya follow ICC trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto
  • Date: 10th September 2013
  • Summary: NAKURU, KENYA (SEPTEMBER 10, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING PROCEEDINGS ON PROJECTOR SCREEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISPLACED PERSON, SALOME MUTHONI, SAYING: "Again this may bring another violence because to some people, they feel that those persons are responsible maybe they are not the ones. And others also think otherwise, so it might also cause another viole
  • Embargoed: 25th September 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA1OYEFXIUG7EI2PJP9W8U0K30
  • Story Text: Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto pleaded innocent to crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday (September 10) at the start of a trial that will test the stability of a country seen as vital to East Africa's security.
    In Nakuru, one of the areas worst hit by the violence in Kenya's Rift Valley province, over 200 victims of Kenya's 2007-08 post election violence gathered at the old town hall to follow the live proceedings on a projector screen put in place by a local non-governmental organisation.
    Salome Muthoni, a 30 year old victim of the clashes who was forcefully displaced from her home in Njoro, feared the trial could spark a resurgence of the deadly violence that had hit east Africa's biggest economy.

    "Again this may bring another violence because to some people, they feel that those persons are responsible maybe they are not the ones. And others also think otherwise, so it might also cause another violence," she said.
    Ruto and his co-accused Joshua arap Sang are charged with co-orchestrating a post-election bloodbath five years ago, working with co-conspirators to murder, deport and persecute supporters of rival political parties in Kenya's Rift Valley region.
    The cases have split public opinion, and witness testimonies of the violence in 2007-08 that killed more than a thousand people could stir tension.
    Sammy Muthua, a Peace Activist at the Network For Social Change And Governance, thinks the trials are a positive step to deter future atrocities like the ones committed in the country 5 years ago.

    "After this we may never see violence again because obviously somebody somewhere must have been responsible. If he is caught, well and good, if he is not I believe a step has been taken in the right direction and everybody knows now that impunity cannot be part of our manner," he said.
    Rival members of Kenyatta's Kikuyu and Ruto's Kalenjin tribes, wielding machetes, knives, and bows and arrows, went on the rampage after a disputed 2007 election, butchering more than 1,200 people and driving hundreds of thousands from their homes.
    This year, Kenyatta and Ruto buried their differences and joined forces for another election, which was comparatively peaceful. Their joint Jubilee Alliance ticket was elected in March after a campaign in which their supporters criticised the ICC for meddling in Kenya's affairs.
    Western leaders, who see a stable Kenya as central to the fight against militant Islam, have already found their ties with east Africa's biggest economy complicated by the charges.
    Ruto, who is voluntarily obeying a summons to attend sessions, appeared in The Hague wearing a grey suit and red-and-silver striped tie, accompanied by several supporters.
    He and Sang could face long prison terms if convicted.
    The cases may have helped Ruto and Kenyatta into office as campaigners rallied nationalist support by accusing the court of meddling in the former British colony. The political alliance means an immediate flare-up of violence is seen as unlikely, but tensions on the ground will inevitably rise.
    The horrors of the election violence shattered Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable countries and dealt the economy a heavy blow from which it is only now recovering.
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