Why Ruto is Angry at Standard Newspaper

Deputy President William Ruto has expressed his displeasure with an article published by the Standard, on MPs interfering with the court process, with regard to his case and that of journalist Joshua Arap Sang at the International Criminal Court.

Ruto through a tweet, asked the Standard authorities to give evidence connecting him to the Kiambaa massacre, where dozens of lives were lost in a church that was burnt down at the peak of post election skirmishes.

He was responding to an editorial article - Stop Interfering With Court Process - which faulted the move by Jubilee Politicians lobbying for the reverse of the use of recanted evidence in the ongoing cases, arguing that perhaps the leaders were not empathetic with the victims of the post election violence.

“To these leaders, perhaps the deaths of 35 people in the Kiambaa church arson attack are a fairy tale. The more than 1200 people who were needlessly killed are mere statistics. The plight of more than 60,000 people who bore the indignity of living as refugees in their own country in sordid conditions for eight years, is inconsequential,” read the article in part.

The editorial piece also criticised the prayer meetings conducted in various parts of the country terming them political rallies masquerading as religious functions.

“Organisers of these prayer meetings move around completely oblivious of the fact there are traumatised survivors of the post-2007 election horror crying out for justice,” read the piece.

This comes as a huge delegation of Kenyan legislators and other government officials are attending the 14th session of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), which began on Wednesday in the Hague.

The group is seeking to stop Rule 68 that allows the use of recanted evidence on Ruto and Sang cases, even as ICC has warned against discussion of the same at the session.

Here is the tweet: