ICC: Fatou Bensouda opens probe in Burundi violence

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has announced that her office would be opening preliminary investigations into the violence in Burundi.
Fatou Bensouda, on Monday, April 25, said she had repeatedly called on all involved in the violence to stop.

“I have been closely following the situation in Burundi after acts of violence broke out in April 2015… I warned that anyone alleged to be committing crimes which the International Criminal Court has the authority to deal with, could be held individually accountable,” Faou Bensouda said.

Over 430 people have been killed in the violence that broke out following a court decision to allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third term – against the constitutional provision of a two-term limit. Nkurunziza then won a disputed election in July.

It is said that at least three armed rebel groups have since emerged in the country. About 3,400 people have been arrested over the violence and approximately 230,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries.
A number of talks between Nkurunziza’s government and opposition have not yielded desired fruits.

Back in Kenya, Fatou Bensouda is on the verge of loosing all the Kenyan cases after President Uhuru Kenyatta declared that no other Kenyan would stand trial in The Hague.

Attorney General Githu Muigai later confirmed that Uhuru’s declaration was not just a political statement. Muigai said Kenya had capacity to try the three individuals wanted by ICC over witness tampering allegations.

He added that the government would write to ICC to handover the three suspects’ – Paul Gicheru, Philip Bett and Walter Barasa – files in order to try them in the local courts.

Fatou Bensouda, after the termination of Deputy President William Ruto and Joshua Sang’s cases, called on the Kenyan government to hand over the three individuals for apparently obstructing the course of justice.

Fatou Bensouda stated that 17 witnesses who had agreed to testify against Ruto and Sang withdrew their cooperation with the court after being subjected to intimidation, social isolation and threats.

ICC judges, led by Chile Eboe-Osuji, had also acknowledged that William Ruto and Sang profited from prosecution witness tampering. The judges ruled that Bensouda had the right to re-prosecute the case at a later time.