Uhuru Kenyatta has been cleared by Kenya’s high court to run in next month’s presidential election, despite his looming trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
Mr Kenyatta, a former finance minister and the son of the country’s founding president Jomo Kenyatta, is one of four people accused by the International Criminal Court of orchestrating tribal fighting that killed 1,200 people after the last vote in 2007.
He is running a close second to prime minister Raila Odinga, according to opinion polls ahead of the March 4th election. If Mr Kenyatta wins, his first foreign trip as president could in April be to appear at the court in The Hague.
“I welcome the high court ruling,” Mr Kenyatta said. “It has affirmed what we have always held; the people of Kenya – and they alone – have the power and the mandate to determine the leadership of this great country.”
Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta head largely ethnic-based coalitions with few ideological differences. There was concern about how his supporters would react to a ban. – (Reuters)