Lenah
Follow us
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result

The ICC and the Kenyan deputy president’s political shenanigans

July 13, 2015
in News
0
0
Home News
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail

By a contributor to The Hague Trials Kenya

Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto wants to become Kenya’s fifth president. His ICC ordeal and stance on homosexuality might just help him get there. 

Part politician. Part suspect of crimes against humanity. Part defender of Christian values. Deputy President William Ruto is a mass of contradictions. He’s also perhaps Kenya’s most gifted politician. Nothing demonstrates this better than how he has managed to turn the International Criminal Court (ICC) and, more recently, homosexuality into potent political weapons, weapons that might just help him bag the Kenyan presidency in the future.

Milking the ICC
It’s a well-known fact that Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta used the charges then facing both of them at the ICC as political leverage to propel themselves to power in the 2013 elections. What’s emerging now is Ruto’s intention to keep milking the ICC for political capital going forward. On this, we have the deputy president’s own words to go by.

Speaking at a fundraiser at Bondo Anglican Church in late June, Ruto reportedly told the worshippers that he would be counting on former prime minister Raila Odinga’s endorsement in the 2022 elections as payback for how his support in the 2007 polls:

“I supported Baba (Odinga) in 2007, which resulted in the violence that took me to The Hague. There is no enmity between me and Raila Odinga. I will be coming to seek his support in 2022,” he said.

A week after making those remarks in Bondo, Ruto was again in the news, this time for telling off US President Barack Obama for his stance on homosexuality. Speaking this time at the AIC Ziwani Church in Nairobi, Ruto told the American leader to keep off the topic of gay rights during his upcoming visit to Kenya in late July because Kenya is a “God-fearing nation and we will be firm on what is right”. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000168074/dp-william-ruto-homose…

A proven formula
Sound familiar? Ruto’s stance on homosexuality, like his stance on the ICC, is based on taking advantage of the anti-Western attitudes that exist in certain segments of Kenyan society. These are Kenyans who see the world through the prism of colonisation. They believe the country is under constant attack from powerful imperialists who not only wish to force leaders down their throats but also “unchristian” practices like homosexuality.

There’s no telling if Ruto’s anti-Western strategy will get him to State House. What’s for sure is that it’s working for him right now. Part of the reason for that is he’s the most prominent Kenyan currently on trial at the ICC. Should his ICC case end in an acquittal within the year, as many expect, then his tirades against the ICC will lose their oomph well before the campaign for the 2022 elections. With that kind of possibility, there must be some part of the deputy president that wants the case to go on for a little bit longer. 

This article was originally published on Justice Hub’s sister site, The Hague Trials Kenya. 

Lead image: Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto at the ICC (Photo: Michael Kooren/ANP)

Tags: ICC (International Criminal Court)Justice NewsKenya
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Related Posts

ICL Media Review: Russian veterans seek ICC investigation into use of mercenaries in Syria
ICL Media Review

ICL Media Review: Russian veterans seek ICC investigation into use of mercenaries in Syria

by ICL Media Review
November 18, 2019
0
27

In this week's review, news about the ECCC conviction of Chea and Samphan for genocide, the adjournment of Kwoyelo’s trial...

Read more
NPWJ: Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Gets a Boost

NPWJ: Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Gets a Boost

January 24, 2019
42
ICL Media Review: Charles Taylor’s ex-wife pleads not guilty in UK trial on torture in Liberia

ICL Media Review: Charles Taylor’s ex-wife pleads not guilty in UK trial on torture in Liberia

January 24, 2019
38
ICL Media Review: Uganda ordered to compensate former LRA fighter Thomas Kwoyelo

ICL Media Review: Uganda ordered to compensate former LRA fighter Thomas Kwoyelo

January 24, 2019
30
NPWJ: European Parliament to hold hearing on the current human rights and humanitarian situation in Yemen

NPWJ: European Parliament to hold hearing on the current human rights and humanitarian situation in Yemen

January 22, 2019
45

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform aimed at a worldwide audience of 18-35 year olds, especially in countries where people are looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to problems of justice, peace and security. Justice can feel too abstract, too often owned by experts. We make the conversations lively and accessible.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
The ICC and the Kenyan deputy president’s political shenanigans