The International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Kenya's former President Uhuru Kenyatta and current President William Ruto, who took office in September 2022, was an "international conspiracy," according to Kenyan Defense Secretary Aden Duale.
The "conspiracy" was allegedly hatched by Western nations, Kenya's "international partners," along with now-opposition leader Raila Odinga to eliminate the threat to Odinga's candidacy in the 2013 presidential election, Duale said in an interview with local media.
The minister denounced the case as politically motivated and accused the British government of sponsoring it, citing the fact that the charges were later dropped following Kenyatta's election.
"The ICC case was a factor of who will become the president [in 2013] which was sponsored by the United Kingdom," the minister stated. "Raila was assured by the West that he will be their presidential candidate. So to eliminate them [Kenyatta and Ruto], they brought up the ICC cases. Ruto and Uhuru were the main threat, which is why the other cases were dropped along the way."
The case in question related to allegations of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya, brought against Kenyatta and Ruto in 2012 a few months ahead of the presidential race in the East African country.
The charges against Kenyatta were withdrawn by then ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in March 2013 due to insufficient evidence, while the case against now-President Ruto was dropped in April 2016.