The Kenyan opposition is accusing International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan of having Secret dealings with his former client, President William Ruto.
Khan, a British lawyer, represented Ruto in the Hague before being appointed Prosecutor of the Hague-based court in February 2021.
Azimio has now petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Khan for alleged misconduct in traveling to Kenya to receive an honorary degree from Mount Kenya University.
Azimio claims Khan’s actions constitute a conflict of interest because the University’s founder, Simon Gicharu, is a close associate of Ruto.
Raila claimed at a public event in Bondo last week that Khan met Ruto at State House.
“The prosecutor of ICC was here treated by Ruto in State House. Given a chopper to go and receive an honorary degree for fighting for human rights. And there he was again being received by another agent of Ruto,” Raila alleged.
Ruto was never acquitted by the ICC, but the charges were dropped after witnesses recanted their evidence.
Then Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the charges could be revived if new evidence emerged.
Azimio listed four “matters of concern” through lawyer Paul Mwangi, which it claims amount to a serious conflict of interest with the country’s situation.
Mwangi stated in a letter to the head of the Independent Oversight Mechanism that Khan has failed to officially disengage from all matters relating to Kenya, casting doubt on whether the court will deliver justice.
“Until August 8, 2023, as will be narrated later in this petition, there has been no official recusal of Mr. Khan from the four pending matters stated above [Kenyan cases at the ICC] nor any known application on his part to the Presidency of The Court to be excused from the situation in Kenya as is contemplated by Article 42(6) of The Rome Statutes,” Mwangi said.
Azimio had on April 14 written to the court to open an investigation into police killings following chaotic protests that rocked the country.
“Azimio submitted a petition seeking the preliminary examination and evaluation of the situation in Kenya. The petition was acknowledged but no further communication has been received,” Mwangi lamented
“Pictorial evidence of Prof Gicharu receiving Mr Khan to the varsity suggests that he (Gicharu) was a connection point between Khan and the institution thus making his dealings with the university not at arms-length.”
Before getting the job, Khan faced a barrage of accusations from African civil society mainly from Kenya.
The civil society players argued that Ruto’s case was declared a mistrial and could be resuscitated should relevant evidence emerge.
