Kenyan Vice President William Ruto pleaded not guilty today to charges of fomenting deadly post-election violence in Kenya five years ago, at the opening of his high-stakes trial at the International Criminal Court.
The case, crucial for the under-fire court's future, opened at the Hague-based ICC with presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji asking Ruto, 46 and fellow accused, Kenyan radio boss Joshua arap Sang, 38, to enter pleas to three charges of crimes against humanity each.
"Not guilty," both men told the judge.
Ruto came to court voluntarily from Nairobi to face charges of masterminding deadly post-election violence in Kenya, a bastion of stability in east Africa, after a tainted 2007 election.
A crowd of Kenyan MPs and other supporters welcomed Ruto and Sang as they arrived for the trial that has been painted as political by critics in Kenya.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, a one-time political foe of Ruto's turned ally, goes on trial at the ICC on November 12. He also says he is innocent.
Ruto, dressed in a dark grey suit, gave a bemused smiled as the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened her case, while Sang, in a light grey suit, shook his head and occasionally smiled.
"Mr Ruto, as a powerful politician" planned the crimes "to satisfy his thirst for political power," Bensouda told the court.
"It is difficult to imagine the suffering or terror experienced by the men, women and children who were burnt alive, hacked to death or chased from their homes," Bensouda added.
"Mr William Ruto and Mr Joshua arap Sang are most responsible for these crimes," she said.
The ICC has come under increased pressure globally, especially from the 54-nation African Union, which accused the court of targeting the continent on the basis of race and demanded the court drop the Kenyan prosecutions.
The trial also comes just days after lawmakers in Kenya became the first in the world to approve moves to withdraw recognition of the 10-year-old court that so far has only one conviction under its belt.
Any move by Kenya to leave the ICC's Rome Statute will have no effect on the current trials, but observers fear it may spark an exodus of court member states in Africa, where all the ICC's current cases are based.
Ruto and Sang each face three counts of murder, deportation and persecution after a wave of violence swept Kenya in 2007-08, leaving at least 1,100 dead and more than 600,000 homeless.
