Zimbabwe: The MDC withdraw the legal action against the victory of President Robert Mugabe
On Friday 16 August, 2013 the MDC withdrew the petition against the election of Robert Mugabe, just a day before the hearing of the case by the Constitutional Court. This paves the way for Mugabe to be inaugurated for another five year term.
Morgan Tsvangirai cited lack of fair hearing due to the prevention of the access to full information of the results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission as the main reason for the withdrawal of the challenge. The MDC had filed a separate complaint seeking the Electoral Court to compel the Electoral Commission and the Registrar General to release certain data to be used at the hearing.
While regretting the action, Tsvangirai promised to continue the fight using democratic means. However, Mugabe’s lawyer Fred Gijima strongly opposed the withdrawal of the case stating that the allegations made against his client were grave and needed to be settled in Court.
Kenya: ICC cases update
Kenya launched a new attempt to stop the charges against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.
Last week an AU delegation comprising of the ambassadors of Benin, Chad, Mauritania, Mozambique, the AU Director in the office of Legal Counsel and led by the Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom met the ICC President Sang Hyun Song to deliver a letter requesting the Court to transfer the cases to the national courts.
ICC President Song declared that the AU delegation should inform Kenya to re-submit an admissibility challenge if they want to transfer the cases back home.
Meanwhile, Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opposed the trial of President Kenyatta to be held in Kenya declaring that it would provoke protests from his supporters. Further, Bensouda wanted to expand the charges against Ruto adding crimes committed in the greater Eldoret area beginning on the 30 December, 2007. The ICC Judge Ekaterina declined this request citing delayed application which would unfairly burden the defence side.
Meanwhile, Deputy President William Ruto and Radio Journalist Joshua Sang want their proceedings at the ICC to held at a different time with that of President Uhuru Kenyatta in order to avoid a vacuum in the leadership of the country.
The defence team of Ruto and Sang proposed that the case of their clients and the case of Kenyatta should be held on a three-week alternating period. A representative of the Prosecutor office had no objection to this request.
However, Judge Eboe-Osuji declared that the Trial Chamber cannot make an immediate ruling on the matter without a consultation of the judges of Kenyatta’s trial. He stated that “this is a matter that this chamber cannot resolve on its own. We shall consult with the judges in the second case and make a resolution which will be communicated in due course”.