Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, says he will transfer power to his deputy while he is at The Hague, attending hearings on his case at the International Criminal Court.

Kenyatta faces five charges, including murder, for allegedly helping to organize deadly ethnic violence that followed Kenya’s disputed 2007 presidential election.

Speaking to parliament in Nairobi Monday, the Kenyan leader said he will honor the court’s summons to appear Tuesday and Wednesday for a status conference on his case.  He said while he is out of the country, his deputy, William Ruto, will serve as Kenya’s acting president.

Kenyatta’s trial was originally set to begin in February.  But the trial has been postponed repeatedly as the ICC’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said the Kenyan government was not providing key documents her office requested.

‘Status of cooperation’

Bensouda said in September that, in the current situation, her office did not have enough evidence to prove the charges against Kenyatta beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court said this week’s conference will focus on the “status of cooperation” between the prosecution and the Kenyan government.

More than 1,100 people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced in a wave of ethnic violence that rocked Kenya in early 2008.  

Kenyatta’s deputy, Ruto, also faces charges at the ICC in connection with the violence. 

Ruto has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial began last year.
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