NAIROBI: A Kenyan court delayed yesterday a ruling on whether two key presidential hopefuls charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court are eligible to run in March elections.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, 50, and former agriculture minister William Ruto, 45, plan to run in the upcoming presidential elections, the first since deadly post-election violence in 2007-2008.
A petition submitted by members of the public questions if the pair can run as, under a new constitution adopted in 2010, those holding public office and charged with a crime must step down.
A new hearing, the latest in a string of delays, was set for Nov. 29.
"It is a matter of national importance that this matter is dispensed with... elections are due in another three months," judge Isaac Lenaola told the court. "We don't want a further delay."
Kenyatta faces five charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts.
Ruto faces three charges of crimes against humanity.
Both have claimed their innocence, remain free and have promised to cooperate with the court.
Their trial, set to begin on April 10, could coincide with the elections, set for March 4, but which are potentially expected to enter a second round vote within a month.
The men are accused of having orchestrated post-election unrest in 2007-08 that killed at least 1,100 people and displaced more than 600,000.
The violence shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of stability in east Africa when the then-opposition leader Raila Odinga accused President Mwai Kibaki of rigging his way to re-election following the 2007 polls.
What began as political riots quickly turned into ethnic killings of Kenyatta's Kikuyu tribe, which launched reprisal attacks, plunging Kenya into its worst wave of violence since independence in 1963.
Two others, radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang, and ex-civil service chief Francis Muthaura, are also facing trial at the ICC.
Kenya delays ruling on eligibity of presidential hopefuls
