By Magdalene Mukami
NAIROBI
After the International Criminal Court (ICC) dropped charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for inciting post-election violence in 2007 and 2008, Amnesty International has issued fresh calls for justice for the victims.
"Thousands died in the post-election violence in Kenya and this development [Kenyatta's acquittal] throws a stark light on the continuing impunity for those who committed these serious crimes," Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty's regional director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, said in a Friday statement issued by the organization's Nairobi bureau.
"Victims of these crimes are still waiting for justice and closure," she said.
"The withdrawal of charges is not a vindication of President Kenyatta; rather, it is an indictment of the Kenyan government and the ICC, both of which continue to fail the victims… by denying them the justice they rightfully deserve," she added.
Kenyan government officials have not answered calls from The Anadolu Agency to respond to the report.
Earlier in the day, Kenyan Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed said The Hague-based tribunal had dropped all charges against Kenyatta.
The Kenyan leader, for his part, welcomed the decision, saying he was "excited" by the development.
Kenyatta had been accused of committing crimes against humanity after allegedly inciting the post-election violence, during which more than 1,000 people were killed.
Kenyatta's deputy, William Ruto, also faces charges at the ICC in relation to the post-election violence. A third Kenyan, radio broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang, has also been charged with inciting violence.
Speaking to The Anadolu Agency, Mitchelle Kagiri, Amnesty's deputy regional director for East Africa, said the ICC should revisit the case to ensure that the victims attained justice.
"There has been no justice for the victims… Today's news is an indictment both of the Kenya government and the ICC, as both have failed the people who suffered the post-election violence," she asserted.
"We are urging the ICC to learn the lessons from this failure and to use this opportunity to investigate and reopen investigations to look at other areas that were missed," she added.
Amnesty published a report in July entitled "Crying for Justice: Victims' perspectives on justice for the post-election violence in Kenya," which, Kagiri said, had revealed that – six years after the violence – there had been no justice for any of the victims.
"The government of Kenya has a responsibility to provide justice for the victims," Kagiri told AA. "It has absolutely failed in this regard."
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