Kenyatta steps down !
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:25 am
Kenya President to Step Down During Court Hearing
NAIROBI, Kenya — Oct 6, 2014, 11:52 AM ET
By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press
Kenyatta faces crimes against humanity charges at The Hague, Netherlands-based court for allegations that he helped instigate violence that followed Kenya's December 2007 presidential election, when more than 1,000 people were killed.
The court ordered him to attend a status hearing Wednesday, denying his request that he participate by video. The hearing would be the first time a sitting president attends an ICC session, a mark Kenyatta's political supporters have urged him to avoid.
Seeking to bypass that notation in history, the president on Monday said he would invoke a never-before-used article of the constitution that will see Deputy President William Ruto temporarily become president.
The temporary abdication is Kenyatta's way of fulfilling the court order, but also insisting that he be a private citizen during the hearing.
In his speech, Kenyatta maintained his innocence, noted that the ICC prosecutor has been admonished by the court for her faltering, case and recalled that the African Union has passed a resolution granting immunity from international tribunals for sitting presidents.
Kenyatta also said Africa's "century of exploitation and domination" by the West continues. Critics of the ICC note that it has only prosecuted Africans.
Lastly, Kenyatta said the accusations he faces occurred before he became president.
"It is for this reason that I chose not to put the sovereignty of more than 40 million Kenyans on trial since their democratic will should never be subject to another jurisdiction," Kenyatta said.
"Therefore let it not be said that I am attending the status conference as the president of Kenya," he continued. "Nothing in my position or my deeds as president warrants my being in court."
NAIROBI, Kenya — Oct 6, 2014, 11:52 AM ET
By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press
Kenyatta faces crimes against humanity charges at The Hague, Netherlands-based court for allegations that he helped instigate violence that followed Kenya's December 2007 presidential election, when more than 1,000 people were killed.
The court ordered him to attend a status hearing Wednesday, denying his request that he participate by video. The hearing would be the first time a sitting president attends an ICC session, a mark Kenyatta's political supporters have urged him to avoid.
Seeking to bypass that notation in history, the president on Monday said he would invoke a never-before-used article of the constitution that will see Deputy President William Ruto temporarily become president.
The temporary abdication is Kenyatta's way of fulfilling the court order, but also insisting that he be a private citizen during the hearing.
In his speech, Kenyatta maintained his innocence, noted that the ICC prosecutor has been admonished by the court for her faltering, case and recalled that the African Union has passed a resolution granting immunity from international tribunals for sitting presidents.
Kenyatta also said Africa's "century of exploitation and domination" by the West continues. Critics of the ICC note that it has only prosecuted Africans.
Lastly, Kenyatta said the accusations he faces occurred before he became president.
"It is for this reason that I chose not to put the sovereignty of more than 40 million Kenyans on trial since their democratic will should never be subject to another jurisdiction," Kenyatta said.
"Therefore let it not be said that I am attending the status conference as the president of Kenya," he continued. "Nothing in my position or my deeds as president warrants my being in court."
Why should we care?????