ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Says Ruto's Case Still Active
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has refused to rule out possibilities of reviving the cases against Deputy President William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Arap Sang.
Bensouda told Daily Nation that her office is ready to receive new information on the cases from the Kenya government or any individual.
While the cases facing the two were terminated in 2016 due to lack of sufficient evidence, Bensouda insisted the cases are still alive as they were only vacated and not thrown out entirely.
“As you are aware, on April 5, 2016, Trial Chamber V (A) vacated the charges against William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, without prejudice to the Prosecution bringing a new case in the future, or in a different form, in light of new evidence,” she said.
“As a general matter, in accordance with Art. 15 of the Rome Statute – the founding treaty of the ICC – any individual or group from anywhere in the world may send information on alleged crimes to the ICC Prosecutor, who is duty-bound to protect the confidentiality of the information received. The office analyses any such materials submitted, as appropriate, in accordance with the Rome Statute and with full independence and impartiality.”
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) head George Kinoti had last week revealed plans to reopen the 2007/2008 post-election violence cases.
Kinoti retracted his statement a day later after his announcement triggered angry reactions from a section of leaders and members of the public.
President Kenyatta and DP Ruto are among the leaders who protested the DCI’s plan to revive the cases.
Kenyatta said: “Those trying to open up the graves must be warned. What they are doing is not a joke.”
Ruto wrote: “The provocative incitement to ethnic hate/division intended by the resurrection of PEV is an evil attempt to resuscitate the tribe project destroyed by the hustler movements’ realization that poverty and unemployment deliberately bred by poor leadership is our problem, not our tribes.”
Comments
Kenyans need to have a…
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Kenyans need to have a closure of the Kiambaa massacre where innocent children and women died in vain! Bensounda have to act with speed to prevent another 2007/8 in 2022! Let the chips fall wherever they may!
Seems like the chicken are…
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Seems like the chicken are slowly coming home to roost!! Let the truth be told!
Bendouda should be…
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Bendouda should be concentrating in getting her USA visa back. She got banned because of trying to investigate a similar case against humanity.
Or did we hear that this court was only made for African nations!
Most African nations have…
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In reply to Bendouda should be… by Asista (not verified)
Most African nations have the tendencies of butchering their own people while claiming despotic protection from their sick tribes!
The kale community kept silent while William Ruto and his cabal of mentally ill friends butchered over 1500 people in Kenya. A hot blood that is now coming back to haunt Ruto.
So, don’t worry about America while you got murderers in your neck of the woods who have yet to come clean on the crimes they committed against the Kenyan people!
You sound like a poisoned arrow welding hustler (Asiata) who sees nothing wrong with what your tribe’s men did in Eldoret @kiambaa church on that memorable day of 2007!
That is why ICC exists to make sure the Kalejin evil hustlers and their masters (Ruto) will never kill others without a price to pay! The writing is on the wall no matter what Ruto does to scuttle the evidence!
Of the 1500 people alleged…
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In reply to Most African nations have… by Kabaka (not verified)
Of the 1500 people alleged to have died in the two men disputed election outcome, many people were killed by the incumbent government using police force or other.
It’s a well known documented fact that the skirmishes come up spontaneously. More people were killed in Nyanza ( Luos) than any other tribe in Kenya yet people like you would like to ignore such facts.
There were only two people for who the tribal or other wars started. Kibaki and Raila are and remain the sole agitators and causes of the election violence that happened! Bribing their way out of icc will not clear their involvement. FYI Kalenjin nor Ruto were running for president at the time. And remember the ICC case is moot. Because the system brought in the wrong people. Unless you offer yourself to be couched on how to lie and substitute names of Kibaki and Raila to other innocent people.
These two (Ruto and…
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These two (Ruto and bensounda) act like ever fighting married couple! Worse still, they both look like two ugly relatives fighting over a gourd of sour kalenjin milk! Hope the ugly sister wins!
The 35 kiambaa women and…
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The 35 kiambaa women and children need justice. Someone must pay for the massacre.
ICC need to clean its house…
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ICC need to clean its house first. The witnesses testified under oath, in open court, on how they were coached and bribed by ICC and UN associated NGOs. And the ICC has not held a single hearing to cleanup their procedures. If this was in Kenya, the JSC would already be reviewing this. The ICC as a court need to be separated from the prosecution.
The idea that Kenyans will…
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The idea that Kenyans will be divided along ethnic lines once DP Ruto is summoned to The Hague to answer for crimes against humanity is purely irrelevant and untenable. Ruto has a case to answer at the ICC!
Anyone who committed crimes of killings in a Kiambaa church, displaced innocent people from their homes, stole land and property of the displaced families, killed witnesses to subvert the course of justice ought and should be held accountable!
The severe wounds inflicted in 2007/8 post election violence by known people (especially politicians) are still open.
In Serbia and Bosnia, the wounds of war only started healing when criminals like Murosovic and karadic were captured and taken to The Hague to face justice!
The open wounds will only start healing when justice will be delivered to all those who directly suffered. Let the pending case be opened so that people can find out the truth about 2007/8 post election violence.
True to that @lewis! Just…
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In reply to The idea that Kenyans will… by Lewis (not verified)
True to that @lewis! Just has to be delivered to all those who died! It is about time!
Welcome back to Kenya Madam…
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Welcome back to Kenya Madam bensouda! We need justice for all those who died, completely perished in 2007/8 for no justifiable reason(s)!
We are ready and willing to revisit the issues of who did what to cause the post election violence!
Do not relent madam bensouda! We are counting you to bring justice to us! It is not too late to do so!
The last paragraph above…
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The last paragraph above clearly states why Ruto is guilty of crimes against humanity; reference 2097/8 post election skirmishes!
The man, Ruto, used his unpopular hustler movement to eliminate those he called madowadowa in the Rift Valley since 1992! 2007/8 skirmishes were an icing to a frosty cake where Ruto leashed everything in his weaponry assembled out; killing over 1500 innocent citizens.
Ruto is preaching red blood here because he will carry out violence again in 2022. The recent deaths of youth in muranga county offers a clear road map of what Ruto is still capable of doing to get to the highest office in Kenya! Kenya does not need a violent man to be the next president!
Ruto is untrustworthy no matter how you look at Ruto as a person! He has no moral compass and convictions! He is driven by material greed and selfishness! He lacks any credibility in his self seeking deceitful monologues; like the one he has conjured here!
Let justice be done!
Nobody has yet told us the…
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Nobody has yet told us the measures put in place to prevent the unfortunate events of 2007/8 from happening again in 2022!
While Uhuru and Raila are trying to implement some protective measures; DP Ruto, who was the main player in the 2007/8 skirmishes, is working hard against the BBI which could help restored order in the country! Ruto wants to sabotage the BBI for his own personal and political benefits and greed.
Ruto does not care one bit, one aorta about the well-being of the Kenyan people! It is all about him and his close neat cabal of criminal frens!
Why is Ruto against the BBI? Simply because Ruto is the biggest beneficial whenever political violence erupts across Kenya! Ruto does not want peace because he has always politically thrived in violent situations!
The reopening of the 2007/8 violence cases is the only viable impetus to preventing Ruto from igniting a new wave of violence across the country in 2022.
It will be a bonus for peace to the people of Kenya if Ruto is at The Hague in 2022 answering to his past involvement in the 2007/8 skirmishes case!
Ruto betrayed himself and he should take responsibility of and for everything that transferred in 2007!
@Bosevitt.Your argument is…
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In reply to Nobody has yet told us the… by Bosevitt (not verified)
@Bosevitt.Your argument is the same argument that many people have articulated against Raila in this forum. It goes without saying that the only person even more culpable as a causative agent to the 2007/2008 PEV is Raila. Therefore using the ICC to open cases against Ruto, really amounts to using the ICC to take out Raila's Political Enemies. The goal being to clear the election road map for Raila so that he could win the upcoming 2022 election. That would be a tragic and untenable outcome. It is actually for this reason that the ICC should refrain from initiating a case against RUTO, because they would essentially be involved in a scheme to tip the scales in favor Raila. That would amount to grouse and flagrant election interference on the part of the ICC. I believe that the ICC would be wise to avoid that kind of trouble. As far as the question of what safe guards have been put in place to avoid a repeat of the 07/08 PEV? The main safe guard is defeating Raila in 2022 and keeping him from taking the country through the election-result denial madness. We all know that it is this election-result denial madness, coupled with historical tribal animosities that leads to PEV in Kenya. Uhuru and Ruto have been on a path of advocating for peace and stability in the country and this explains their strong support to date. My encouragement to Ruto would be that he needs to continue on this path of using his political influence to advocate for Peace and Stability in the country. The end result of this in my view is that for the sake of peace in the country people will let him be. It should also be mentioned on this forum that should the majority of Kenyans decide to elect Ruto as President of Kenya come 2022.It would be untenable for the ICC to hold a case against a sitting President of Kenya.
The way I see this situation…
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The way I see this situation is that. If Ruto continues to be an ardent advocate for Peace and Stability in the country. He will ride out the storm of challenges that are presently set against him. The bottom line of Kenyan Politics is the overriding interest of Peace and Stability. Life tends to support that which propagates more of itself.
@kim - Even the lion …
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In reply to The way I see this situation… by Kim (not verified)
@kim - Even the lion (predictor) tends to make false assurances of a calm, peaceful and stable environment prior to forcefully taking down its targeted creature. Ruto’s preaching of peace and stability is purely false and not genuine at all
DP Ruto is merely soothing those who are light hearted with far fetched hope of stable and peaceful Kenyaunder Ruto, before he will violently destroy them should he be the next president!
Even Hitler himself pretended to be the best friend of the Jews before he turned around and killed over 6 million Jews! The Jews had voted for Hitler in large numbers!
Ruto will not stop at anything in eliminating anyone who has ever questioned his legitimacy in the past! You thought Moi was dangerously bad?? You have not seen anything yet if Ruto ever became the president of the Republic of Kenya!
@wesonga. You are scare…
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In reply to @kim - Even the lion … by Wesonga (not verified)
@wesonga. You are scare mongering. Many of the people I am talking to about politics are saying they will vote for Ruto and for good reason. It is their voice that I am articulating here on this forum.
We need to go back and…
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We need to go back and investigate the MOLO clashes too.
Or even further..
The murders of MBOYA, JM, OUKO, KUNGU,PIO,SAITOTI,All those who disappeared during JOMO and MOI eras.,
I strongly believe these families also need justice.
Let us first investigate the…
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In reply to We need to go back and… by Kora kanini (not verified)
Let us first investigate the guy (Ruto) who is now the second in command to make sure we don’t end up having a wolf in charge of the flock come 2022.
We need to go back and…
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We need to go back and investigate the MOLO clashes too.
Or even further..
The murders of MBOYA, JM, OUKO, KUNGU,PIO,SAITOTI,All those who disappeared during JOMO and MOI eras.,
I strongly believe these families also need justice.
Ruto sasa mwagaa pesa...hii…
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Ruto sasa mwagaa pesa...hii maneno ya kukuaribia kampeni zako zipotele mbali kama kawa
Kenya needs truth justice…
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Kenya needs truth justice healing for murder of all innocent since the beginning. Bensouta will not deliver anything after failing to rise to the occasion the 1st. She won't grow a 3rd leg now!!
Selective reasoning will…
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Selective reasoning will take us no where. The Hague trial was corrupted and that is why it collapsed.Even if they hang everybody who was involved in the PEV, how will that benefit the survivors? Hague trial was meant to block Uhuru and Ruto from winning the elections. It failed. If you want to use Hague to block Ruto for 2022, that is repeating the same mistake. Ruto is the only Presidential candidate for 2022. If there is another one, let him come straight without hiding in this fake BBI.
What is the purpose of…
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What is the purpose of opening dried wounds? Who benefits? There are glaring violations of human rights in the World. Why does this Court only go after Africans, even where there is no evidence? Kenya should pull out of the Rome Statute that established this Court. It does not serve a positive purpose.
The most people that died in…
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The most people that died in the then disputed election outcome came from Luo Nyanza . And the atrocities were done by none other than the other interested party via the police. The evidence is everywhere. Videos captured by press. And yet icc is telling us that they don’t have evidence. They are still waiting for witnesses to be born to get it right!
Kenyans have a mundane right to choose their leaders but not through foreign interferences.
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