Uhuru Kenyatta lawyers hopeful of evidence review

LAWYERS for Kenya’s president-elect Uhuru Kenyatta hope to persuade judges at an International Criminal Court hearing on Monday to order a review of evidence that prosecutors say proves he orchestrated deadly post-election violence.

Kenyatta’s lawyers were to make their legal arguments just days after he won the presidency at Kenya’s first elections since the violence-marred 2007 poll.

The lawyers say the case should be reviewed because a key prosecution witness lied, fundamentally undermining the prosecution case against him and fellow suspect Francis Muthaura.

Kenyatta won last week’s election despite his indictment at the Hague-based court on charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and deportation. Prosecutors label him an “indirect co-perpetrator” of violence committed by his supporters in 2007-2008.

Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding father Jomo Kenyatta and one of the country’s richest men, insists he is innocent.

His trial had been scheduled to start next month, but judges last week postponed it until July, saying the defense needed more time to prepare.

Prosecutors say they do not object to Muthaura’s case being sent back to a so-called confirmation of charges hearing because their case against him was built around the testimony of the witness who has since been dropped from the case.

However they argue that such a step is not necessary for Kenyatta, because other witnesses have testified against him.