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ICC: Trial of Kenya's deputy president resumes at the Hague

Kenya

The trial for crimes against humanity facing Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, and radio journalist Joshua Arap Sang resumes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday.

The two through their legal defence teams have in a 95-page document argued that they are wrongly accused of committing crimes of murder, forcible transfer of populations and persecution in Kenya during the 2007-2008 Post Election Violence.

More than 1,000 people were killed and another 600,000 more displaced in the worst post election violence to hit the East African nation.

ICC chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has alleged that both Ruto and Sang have a case to answer for the atrocities committed in Kenya’s expansive Rift Valley region where most of the violence occured, but the duo have maintained innocence.

Trial of #Kenya DP #Ruto and journalist #Sang to resume today at the #ICC, with hearings of 'no case to answer' motion

— International Crimes (@IntCrimDatabase) January 12, 2016

Watch now: #ICC trial resumes in the #Ruto and #Sang case https://t.co/3oPDdWshQE pic.twitter.com/Yig21JXQD2

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) January 12, 2016

During this current phase of the trial, the Hague-based court will hear arguments made by the defence, the prosecution and victims’ legal representatives regarding the motion that seeks to have the case terminated based on the prosecutor’s evidence.

The trial chamber will also determine the motion of no-case-to-answer for every of the three charges each of the accused persons is facing.

Partial or full rejection of the motion will mean that Ruto and Sang have a case to answer and must be put on their defence.

But, if the judges accept the motion for all the three charges, it will mark the end of the case meaning that the evidence presented by the prosecution is insufficient to establish the criminal responsibility of the two in the atrocities committed during the election violence.

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