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Friday, February 15, 2013

Kenyan court clears Kenyatta to run for president despite ICC charges

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's High Court on Friday cleared the way for Uhuru Kenyatta to run in next month's presidential election, dismissing legal petitions that sought to bar his candidacy on the grounds that he is facing charges at the International Criminal Court.

The Kenyan court said it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter and said it could not deny the presidential hopeful's right to contest the poll.

Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta leaves in company of supporters after he was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to run for the presidency in the March 4 presidential elections in capital Nairobi January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Noor Khamis
Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta leaves in company of supporters after he was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to run for the presidency in the March 4 presidential elections in capital Nairobi January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Noor Khamis

Kenyatta, a former finance minister and the son of the country's founder president, is one of four accused at the ICC of orchestrating fighting in which 1,200 people died after the disputed presidential election in December 2007.

(Reporting by James Macharia and Humphrey Malalo)

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