Kalonzo, Gachagua Give Update On Taking Ruto To ICC

The United Opposition has revealed that it is collecting and compiling evidence to hand it over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the hope that President William Ruto will be made to answer for crimes against humanity, owing to the recent extrajudicial killings and deployment of rogue police units.

In a stern-worded statement signed by Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka, Rigathi Gachagua, Justin Muturi, Eugene Wamalwa, Mukhisa Kituyi, and Saitoti Torome, the United Opposition began by condemning the ongoing, rampant, and senseless extrajudicial killings being carried out by the National Police Service (NPS) across the country, most recently, the brazen shooting of a mask hawker, Boniface Kariuki, in the heart of Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) during protests.

"We are also alarmed at the emergence of a dangerous and illegal alliance between the police and the Haiti-modelled militia gangs who we saw terrorising unarmed protestors, business operators and civilians regardless of age and gender," the statement read in part.

"If it was not evident before, it is crystal clear that the police have become judge, jury, and executioner; a death squad in uniform. They have abdicated their constitutional mandate to protect and serve the people and are clearly under the direction of a paranoid and repressive regime."

The opposition political faction also claimed that police officers are teaming up with militia groups—likened to Haiti’s armed gangs—to forcefully crack down on public protests, terming the Kenya-led Haiti Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission as "not a peace keeping mission, but a benchmarking trip, by Ruto on the use of Milita to terrorize a nation on taxpayer's money."

They posed several sharp questions about police conduct during the protests, highlighting concerns such as officers wearing masks and lacking visible badge numbers, the use of live bullets on unarmed protesters, and allegations that police were involved in looting private property.

They also pointed out that firearms used by Kenyan police appeared similar to those allegedly provided by the Kenyan government to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, and accused top police commanders of lying under oath before Parliament about the death of digital activist and teacher Albert Ojwang.

The opposition accused President Ruto’s administration of consistently breaching the Kenyan Constitution and international human rights laws, including the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

They also linked Ruto to unlawful arms dealings and claimed he has played a role in facilitating atrocities in both Kenya and Sudan.

"It is clear that the Ruto regime has waged war against fundamental human rights with calculated vengeance. He has deployed killer rogue police squads whose tactics are similar to the Haitian militia. These death squads are using special firearms that Ruto has also illegally supplied to Sudan's RSF militia. These acts have resulted in countless deaths both in Kenya and Sudan," added the statement.

"As the United Opposition, we demand answers to the questions posed. We, however, do not expect them given this regime's dereliction of duty to its people. Asking for accountability from a clearly paranoid and repressive regime that flaunts the rule of law and disregards human life is a waste of time."

According to the opposition, Ruto has continued to contravene not only the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, but also all international laws and conventions, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) signed and ratified by Kenya.

"We, the United Opposition, have therefore taken action. We have been collecting evidence, and our teams are currently compiling the same to hand over to the ICC Prosecutor. Mr Ruto must answer for his crimes against humanity," added the statement.

The United Opposition has been unrelenting in vowing to take the controversies surrounding civilian killings under President Ruto’s administration to the ICC for investigation. On April 29, the leaders strongly denounced the killing of five civilians in Ang'ata Barikoi, Narok County. They argued that the April 28 incident wasn’t an isolated case, pointing to a growing trend of land-related violence.