Bensouda responds on video link plea

Kenya: Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda wants the International Criminal Court (ICC) to use its discretion in deciding whether to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to attend a status conference via video link.

Bensouda said though the Trial Chamber V(b) had previously allowed the President to attend a similar conference via video link from Nairobi, it should also have discretion to allow or reject his application. But the prosecutor seemed to oppose a request to have Mr Kenyatta excused from attending the conference, saying the issue did not arise as the trial had not opened.

“The Chamber has previously excused Mr Kenyatta from attending status conference or has permitted him to attend by video link. The question of whether the Chamber should do so here is a matter for its discretion,” Bensouda said.

She was responding to an application by the President’s defence team to have him excused from attending the conference on Wednesday next week or reschedule it to a later date and allow him attend via video link.

The President lawyers filed the application last week on the grounds that as chairman of East African Community Heads of State, he was scheduled to attend the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Summit in Kampala on that day. And on Thursday, he was scheduled to attend Uganda’s Independence celebrations.

Bensouda observed that no clear reasons for attendance by video link had been given, other than Uhuru’s status and the distance he would have to travel.”The Chamber may consider that these reasons alone do not represent reasons to excuse him from attendance...,”she said.