The trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court was dealt a heavy blow yesterday, after the chief prosecutor requested a delay in his trial acknowledging a lack of evidence.
Fatou Bensouda made the request following the loss of two key witnesses, saying she needed extra time to "complete efforts to obtain additional evidence, and to consider whether such evidence will enable my Office to fully meet the evidentiary threshold required at trial".
She went on to tell “the people of Kenya”,
"my decision... was not taken lightly... I have and will continue to do all that I can to realise justice for the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election violence".
See Bensouda’s full statement here.
Elizabeth Evenson, senior counsel for international justice at Human Rights Watch stated that the latest development was
“deeply disturbing for all those who are looking to the ICC to provide justice where there has been none in Kenya”.
Kenyatta was due to be the first sitting head of state to be tried by the court.