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VIDEO: Uhuru Kenyatta's Interview on Al Jazeera - 'ICC Has the Wrong Guys'
By Mwakilishi | Wed, 01/23/2013 01:23AM -0400
Kenya's disputed presidential vote of 2007 erupted into an ethnic conflict that left more than 1,200 people dead and 600,000 displaced.
The violence resulted in images that shocked the world and that no Kenyan wants to see again - men, hacked to death, women and children burnt alive as they sought refuge in a church.
In 2008, a coalition government between the rival candidates Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga put a lid on the tensions, but now there are worrying warning signs of what might happen after the upcoming elections.
Hundreds have been killed in Tana River Delta, where political rivalries have inflamed conflicts over resources, and the upcoming trial of two leading candidates for president could further complicate the election and its outcome.
Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto are due to stand trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Hague in April, just a month after the vote for allegedly stoking the violence last time around.
The ICC accuses Kenyatta, currently the deputy prime minister, of directing youth from his Kikiyu ethnic community to fight Raila Odinga’s Luo supporters in 2007 - charges he has always denied.
Will an electoral victory give him a chance to escape international justice?
Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to Al Jazeera's Folly Bah Thibault about tribal violence, justice, politics and the future of Kenya.
He says: "I am not saying that international justice doesn’t have a purpose .… But if Kenyans do vote for us, it will mean that Kenyans themselves have questioned the process that has landed us at the International Criminal Court. But that does not mean that we will cease to cooperate because as I have said most importantly we understand and recognise the rule of law and we will continue to cooperate as long as we are signatories to the Rome Statute ....
"Even as we continue to face these charges we will still continue to appear. There is absolutely no power vacuum because one thing that people always tend to forget is that Kenya is not a banana republic. Kenya is a country that actually has really firm and clear institutions in place that would allow ... so consequently the system and the state will continue to run regardless of the court, the two are not interlinked." - Al Jazeera
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Wed, 01/23/2013 09:48AM -0400
#1
Uhuru's double speak is just painful to watch/listen. Why would anyone want to vote for such a person??
Wed, 01/23/2013 11:23AM -0400
#2
This guy sponsered Mungiki, that is what he should be singing and every Kenyan know that. ICC got the wright guys, no escaping this.
Wed, 01/23/2013 12:01PM -0400
#3
And what about those who said no certain person no peace, who are the authors of violence, why is the ICC biased? Lets wait and see what kenyans will decide.
Wed, 01/23/2013 05:30PM -0400
#4
In Cuba they say if you are holding on to a dead cow's leg, you are as guilty as the one who killed it. I appreciate the team that's investigating these guys. I'ts hard nowadays to know who's right and who's wrong but we know one thing that Kenyans were brutalized, killed and kicked out of where they stayed . My opinion is that whoever is suspected of these cruel acts should not have the chance to be running for any office this year. If they win and they're guilty what will they do to Kenya after what they're being accused of doing.
MALIZENI CASE THEN GET THE VOTES YOU NEED AND KENYANS PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR THESE PEOPLE.. I'VE HEARD BUT CANNOT PROVE IT THAT THEY ARE SUSPECTS AND ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A PROBLEM ABOUT WHY THEY'RE EVEN RUNNING. THE NEW KENYA IS YOURS, OURS AND MINE ..YOUR VOTE THIS YEAR WILL PROVE IT...
Wed, 01/23/2013 08:33PM -0400
#5
This Guy is dimmer than I thought. He got the whole thing backwards and he can't even see it.
Thu, 01/24/2013 03:47AM -0400
#7
What a shame.... Kenyans still being duped by the likes of Uhuru wa Kenyatta... Time is up for this glaring impunity. Kenyans have the chance and time to vote themselves to "Hell"!
Sat, 01/26/2013 12:05PM -0400
#8
Honourable,you said it like i would have said it.Uhuru,you will be our next president-dont even spare any of your precious time on the'Holier than thous of Kenya'-we know them and we will give them a RED CARD that will be irredeemable in their political life.
It is simple-whoever called people to demostrate,whoever balkanised this country as early as 2005 into a barbaric hatred of one tribe should be the ONE answering these charges at the hague.All the best U.K.
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