AMSTERDAM/NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Prosecutors dropped charges of crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, marking a failure for the International Criminal Court in the highest-profile case in its 11-year history.
Judges in The Hague had on Wednesday given prosecutors a week to decide whether to proceed against Kenyatta, who was accused of fomenting ethnic violence after the 2007 election, or withdraw the charges.
Prosecutors have said Kenyatta, the first sitting president to have attended a session of the court, used his powers to obstruct the investigation, especially since becoming head of state last year. Kenyatta’s lawyers denied this.
The collapse is a blow to the court, which has secured only two convictions, both against little-known Congolese warlords, and has yet to prove it can hold the powerful to account.
Many Africans accuse the court of unfairly targeting their continent, while a lawyer said it had failed victims of the post-election bloodshed in which 1,200 people were butchered.
