Landmark Case

Kenyatta Agrees to Confront ICC Charges

Kenya leader accused of crimes against humanity.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said he will appear this week at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he's facing charges of crime against humanity in connection with violence that followed 2007 elections in Kenya in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Kenyatta will be the first sitting head of state to appear before the ICC, which is set to hold the first of two days of hearings. The president says he is going in a personal capacity and not as president. Kenyatta's lawyers insist the charges should be thrown out, and judges will consider arguments from their side as well as the prosecution. The hearings are to set a date for the president's trial to start. The ICC summoned Kenyatta to address allegations that evidence against him had been withheld. Kenyatta was elected in 2013, despite facing charges. He will step down temporarily during the hearings.