Uhuru blames violence on Raila

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday took the stand at the International Criminal Court to defend himself against allegations of crimes against humanity.

In a dramatic confrontation with his accuser, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Mr Kenyatta denied any links with the outlawed Mungiki sect.

Mr Kenyatta blamed Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the violence which swept the nation following the last elections, saying he bore ultimate “political responsibility” for failing to stop it.

Mr Kenyatta said Mr Odinga failed to rein in his supporters who were aggrieved by the results announced by the electoral commission.

“I will not say that he is criminally responsible because I have no evidence,” said Mr Kenyatta in response to a question by Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

“He had political responsibility. If he did not hold press conferences using strong language in that period, if he followed due process and went to court and lastly had he used his political voice to tell supporters to stop the violence, the level of violence would not have been what it was.”

Mr Kenyatta said he could not link the rest of the leadership of ODM with the violence. “He who bears responsibility is the leader. The leader was Raila Odinga. He was the flag-bearer.” Click here