The court had ordered Kenyatta to attend the status hearing on Wednesday, denying his request that he participate by video.
"The case is at a critical juncture, which is why I deemed
appropriate to be here in person," ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda
said.
Almost 100 Kenyan members of parliament were present in the various public viewing galleries for the hearing on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Kenyatta invoked a never-before-used article of the
constitution, handing over power temporarily to Deputy President William
Ruto.
The temporary measure is Kenyatta's way of fulfilling the court order
to appear, but also insisting that he be a private citizen during the
hearing.
No statement
Kenyatta faces crimes against humanity charges at The Hague-based
court for allegations that he helped instigate violence that followed
Kenya's December 2007 presidential election, when more than 1,000 people
were killed.
Judge Kuniko Ozaki told Kenyatta that he was present "solely in your capacity as an accused individual".
"You may speak only in your capacity as an accused and may not make statements either of a political nature or in your official capacity," as president, Ozaki said.
Kenyatta's lawyer Stephen Kay said however that his client would not
address the court.
"I will be answering questions on his [Kenyatta's] behalf and he does not
choose to make a statement today," Kay said.
Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor-Woods, reporting from The Hague, said the hearing session is underway with a panel of three judges.
"Prosecution lawyers called on Wednesday for an exceptional
'indefinite adjournment' in the case against Uhuru Kenyatta," he said.
"With Mr Kenyatta deciding that he will not speak personally during
the Status Hearing, the prosecution made an unusual argument for keeping
the case open for an indefinite period while further attempts are made
to persuade the Kenyan government to co-operate with the court," he
added.
Kenyatta and Ruto, who were on opposing sides of the 2007-08
conflict, formed a political alliance that won the presidency last year
and a majority in parliament after they were indicted for the crimes
against humanity.
On Tuesday, international prosecutors accused the Kenyan government
of failing to hand over phone and bank records they said would help them
show Kenyatta paid collaborators to take part in post-election violence
in 2007.
'Fishing expedition'
Prosecution lawyer Ben Gumpert told judges the Kenyan government had
not handed over phone records and three years of bank records the
prosecution needed to corroborate witness testimony that Kenyatta had
approached them to "finance or ultimately coordinate that violence".
McGregor-Woods said the prosecution will be asking Kenyatta about
whether or not he is willing to co-operate with the court as they said
he has not been doing so thus far.
"All along the prosecution has complained that the Kenyan government
has not responded quickly enough and efficiently enough to its requests
for those records, and I think that will be the line of questioning by
the prosecution today," he said.
Kenyatta's lawyers have always dismissed the requests for his bank
and telephone records as a "fishing expedition" designed to cover up for
prosecutors' lack of evidence.
"Whatever evidence we produced, further inquiries were suddenly made," Kay said.
The repeatedly-delayed case has seen at least seven prosecution witnesses drop out, allegedly through bribes and intimidation.
Judges could decide to send the case to trial or to abandon it after
the prosecution said it did not have enough evidence, although a
decision is not expected on Wednesday.
About a dozen supporters had greeted Kenyatta when he arrived at
Amsterdam's Schipol Airport on Tuesday, although he and his entourage
left the airport via a VIP exit. |
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