Nairobi, Kenya - Kenya’s former Police Chief Hussein Ali, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Cabinet Chief Francis Muthaura have vowed a strong legal fight at the International Criminal Courts (ICC) hearings opening Wednesday. Kenyatta and Ali vowed to put up a challenge to the severity of the charges facing them, pointing at the failure by the ICC Prosecutors to show enough proof to link their clients to crimes that meet the definition of the crimes against humanity.

Kenyatta’s legal team has been trying to catch the eye of the presiding judge, Ekaterina Trendafilova, to allow them submit a last-minute filing of new evidence which came up after the deadline elapsed for feeding the court with evidence.

Kenyatta’s legal team insists it has obtained information that one of the witnesses relied upon by the ICC prosecutors lied and the testimony could not be credible because of a monetary inducement to the former military officer.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber is due to open the confirmation of charges hearings for the three suspects to determine whether there is adequate information to believe that the three top Kenyan officials committed murder, deportations, rape and other inhumane acts.

The offences were committed in the 2007/08 post-election violence. Some 1,100 people were killed during the violence, now the subject of an ICC investigation following the failure by Kenyan authorities to set up a court to try the cases.

“We do not believe for one moment that the police crimes in Naivasha and Nakuru are of such gravity that they should be tried at this Court (ICC)…Ali should not bear this responsibility,” said Evans Monari, the lead Counsel for Ali’s defence team.

The former Kenyan Police Chief, who was promoted to the post of Post-Master General, insisted the crimes committed by the Police under his command do not warrant an ICC trial and should be tried by a local Kenyan court.

The ICC has previously ruled against an attempt by the Kenyan authorities to call off the pre-trial hearings and allow a Kenyan court to try the cases.

But the Court insists authorities have not provided adequate information to convince the court that a judicial process is underway and should assume responsibility for the cases.

Ali and some of the suspects have filed applications before the Court, challenging the trial on the basis that the crimes do not warrant an international court attention.

Monari said subjecting the case to the ICC was a waste of time for a court that should get busy with more serious judicial matters.

“We are appealing on a different matter from what the Kenyan government has made its previous appeals. This is a different aspect. We are appealing on gravity. We will do our best and we are doing it our way,” said Gershom Otachi, also representing Ali.

Pana 20/09/2011