JURIST - Paper Chase: Kenya court convicts suspect for 2007 post-election violence

[JURIST] A Kenyan court on Tuesday sentenced the first suspect in the 2007 post-election violence [JURIST news archive] to life imprisonment. Justice Roselyn Wendoh convicted Paul Ruto, who is not related to William Ruto [ICC case materials], for the murder of Kimani Thiongo. Tuesday's conviction marked the beginning of trialsconcerning the country's 2007 post-election violence. Four of the six Kenyan leaders will face trial [JURIST report] in March of 2013 before the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. Former Kenyan minister William Ruto and journalist Joshua Arap Sang [case material] have been accused on three counts of murder, forcible transfer and persecution while deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former civil service chief Francis Muthaura [case materials] will face trial for their roles in the violence and five counts of orchestrating murder, rape, forcible transfer and persecution in the polls' aftermath.

In May, the appeals chamber of the ICC rejected [JURIST report] the appeal challenging the court's jurisdiction in the two cases related to the post-election violence. The charges against Ruto and Sang were confirmed [JURIST report] by the pre-trial chamber in January. In March last year, the ICC had issued summons [JURIST report] for six individuals charged with their crimes committed during the unrest.