The Lost Kenyan Duel: The Role of Politics in the Collapse of the International Criminal Court Cases against Ruto and Kenyatta

This article contributes to the debate concerning the International Criminal Court and politics by regarding the Court as a coliseum on whose floor the Prosecutor duels with the defendants of his/her choosing. It focuses on the Ruto and Kenyatta cases arising from the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya. The article begins with a background to the post-election violence. The second part discusses Kenya’s initial efforts to halt the icc proceedings against the six suspects. The third part considers how Kenyatta and Ruto used the icc prosecutions against them to get elected to the country’s presidency. The fourth part discusses how Kenya’s non-cooperation with the Prosecutor and the recantation and withdrawal of witnesses led to the collapse of the Kenyatta and Ruto cases. The fifth and final part concludes by arguing that the Prosecutor lost the duel due to a political miscalculation which Kenyatta and Ruto used to their advantage.