Photo: Elkana Jacob/The Star PRESIDENTIAL aspirants Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are now faced with a new suit that will determine their eligibility to hold public office.
The suit comes a day after an earlier petition, which sought to block the two from running for office, was withdrawn. And unlike the previous suit, the case by International Centre for Policy and Conflict has named both Kenyatta and Ruto as respondents.
The lobby group says that in committing Kenyatta, Ruto, radio presenter Joshua arap Sang and former head of civil service Francis Muthaura to full trial, the International Criminal Court noted that there are substantial grounds to believe that they were either contributors or indirect co-perpetrators to crimes against humanity in the 2007-08 post-election violence.
Through lawyer Lempaa Suyianka, the lobby group says that a person committed to trial at The Hague will not be able to properly discharge his or her duties as a public officer as they would be required to attend hearings at the ICC on a full time basis.
"Selecting a person committed to trial at The Hague to any public office would bring dishonor to the office and erode confidence of the public in such an office," reads part of the application.
Both Ruto and Kenyatta insist that they will be in the ballot in the March 4 elections. The ICPC says that their trial might lead to issuance of warrants of arrests should they defy attendance, thereby eroding the country's sovereignty and integrity, "as such a public officer would be facing arrest the nature of which President of Sudan Omar al Bashir has been subjected to by the ICC".
The two are expected to announce a pre-election alliance that will see Kenyatta run for the presidency with Ruto as his running mate in a public rally to be held in Nakuru's Afraha Stadium tomorrow.
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