The International Criminal Court has reversed a ruling that allowed Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta to attend only parts of his trial, saying the African leader "as a general rule must be present" in court.
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| The African Union has been campaigning to have Uhuru Kenyatta's trial delayed |
"Any future requests to be excused from attending parts of his trial
will be considered on a case-by-case basis," The Hague-based ICC said in
a statement on Tuesday.
Kenyatta's trial on charges of
masterminding some of the 2007-8 post-election violence in Kenya that
left over 1000 people dead and several hundred thousand displaced is set
to start on February 5.
Judges previously partially excused Kenyatta to allow him to deal with the aftermath of a Nairobi mall siege in September.
Two
weeks later, the court postponed the trial's start date after
Kenyatta's lawyers said the mall attack - claimed by Somalia's
al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab insurgents - triggered a "national and
international crisis".
Kenyatta, who was elected president in
March, has long said that the trial in the Netherlands would hamper his
running of the country.
Prosecutors however argued Kenyatta's
situation was the same as that of fellow accused and Kenya's Vice
President William Ruto, who was instructed last month to be present at
his own trial.
Both Kenyatta and Ruto face crimes against humanity
charges in separate trials. They were political opponents at the time
of the post-poll violence that shattered the east African country's
image as a beacon of stability in the region.
Ruto went on trial in September, becoming the highest-ranking serving official to do so before the ICC.
Both men have pledged full cooperation with the court.
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