Kenya's High Court on Friday cleared the way for Uhuru Kenyatta to run in next month's presidential election, dismissing arguments that his looming trial on charges of crimes against humanity made him ineligible. Kenyatta, a former finance minister and the son of the country's founding president, is one of four accused at the International Criminal Court of orchestrating tribal fighting that killed 1,200 people after the last vote in 2007, Reuters reported. He is running a close second to Prime Minister Raila Odinga according to opinion polls ahead of the March 4 election. If Kenyatta wins, his first foreign trip as president could be to appear in the dock at the court in the Hague at a hearing scheduled for April. The Kenyan High Court also cleared the way for Kenyatta's running mate William Ruto to stand in the vote, as part of their Jubilee coalition. Ruto is also facing charges at the ICC over the 2007 violence. Both men deny the charges. "I welcome the high court ruling today," Kenyatta said in a statement. "It has affirmed what we have always held; the people of Kenya - and they alone - have the power and the mandate to determine the leadership of this great country." Odinga and Kenyatta head largely ethnic-based coalitions with few ideological differences, and there was concern about how Kenyatta's supporters might react if he had been barred. Similar ethnic rivalries fed the fighting after the last vote five years ago which damaged the image of the east African country, the region's most powerful economy. -- SPA
