ICC drops Uhuru Kenyatta charges for Kenya ethnic violence

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague have withdrawn charges of crimes against humanity against Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta.He had been indicted in connection with post-election ethnic violence in 2007-08, in which 1,200 people died.

Mr Kenyatta, who had denied the charges, said he felt "vindicated".

The prosecutor's office said the Kenyan government had refused to hand over evidence vital to the case.

Mr Kenyatta said on Twitter he was "excited" at the dropping of charges.

"My conscience is absolutely clear," he said, adding in another message that his case had been "rushed there without proper investigation".

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said her government would try to have two other similar cases thrown out including one involving Deputy President William Ruto.
Mr Kenyatta (l) said he would now try to have the case against his deputy, William Ruto (r), dropped

"As they say, one case down, two more to go," Mr Kenyatta said in another Twitter message.

On Wednesday, the ICC had given prosecutors a week to decide whether to pursue their case against Mr Kenyatta or withdraw charges.

Further delays in the case would be "contrary to the interests of justice", it had said.

On Friday, prosecutors said the evidence had "not improved to such an extent that Mr Kenyatta's alleged criminal responsibility can be proven beyond reasonable doubt".

The BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague said the announcement was a huge blow to prosecutors.

Many observers had seen the case against Mr Kenyatta as the biggest test in the court's history, she says.

Source: BBC