Frustrated ICC Prosecutor To Drop Charges Against Francis Muthaura

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has filed a notice to withdraw all charges against Francis Kirimi Muthaura in the case of The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura and Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. However, charges against all other accused in the Kenya situation remain. “I have decided, as of the state of evidence available now, that we have no other choice but to withdraw the charges against Mr Muthaura,” Bensouda told the Hague-based court. But the ICC’s Bensouda said that in Muthaura’s case some witnesses were refusing or unable to provide vital evidence. “The witnesses that had conveyed evidence have been killed or died, others refuse to speak to the prosecutor,” Bensouda said. “We do not feel there are reasonable chances of a condemnation at the moment of the trial,” she said. The Prosecutor however stressed that the other Kenyan cases should proceed as planned: “This decision applies only to Mr Muthaura. It does not apply to any other case.” Source: Kenya Today News