ICC drops charges against Kenya president, Uhuru Kenyatta

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague have dropped charges against President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.

Hague had indicted him for crimes against humanity in connection with the post election violence after 2007 elections in the country.

About 1,200 people were killed while 600,000 were displaced during the violence.

The president denied the allegation, accusing the court of meddling in the affairs of Kenya.

Kenyatta, who came into office in 2013, goes into history as the first head of state to appear before the court.

The trial has been postponed several times, making the court to give prosecutors one week to either strengthen or drop charges against Kenyatta.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the prosecutors were given a week ultimatum to either strengthen or drop charges against Kenyatta.

However, the prosecution agreed to drop the charges on Friday, acknowledging that it lacked sufficient evidence to convict the Kenyan leader.

“Evidence has not improved to such an extent that Mr Kenyatta’s alleged criminal responsibility can be proven beyond reasonable doubt,” Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, said in a statement.

Bensouda added that she reserved the right to file charges again if she gets more evidence.

Reacting to the development, Fergal Gaynor, the lawyer representing the victims, told Al Jazeera that the Kenyan government obstructed the case by  frustrating efforts to gather evidence, including failing to provide Kenyatta’s phone, tax and banking records.

“Frankly the victims have been trying to get justice in kenya, and failed. They tried to get justice from the ICC, and they failed. It is a sad day for them,” he said.

Equally, the Human Rights Watch described the decision as “a sets back efforts to end the country’s entrenched culture of impunity,” challenging ICC to figure out how it can move ahead with high-profile cases against powerful people.

William Ruto, Kenyatta’s deputy, is also on trial at the ICC on similar charges after his legal team’s efforts to have the case thrown out failed.

Ruto and Kenyatta were on opposing sides during the 2007 election but subsequently formed an alliance, paving the way for him to become the deputy president.