Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta recently became the first African head of state to step down voluntarily to face charges at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

Kenyatta faces charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC after allegations that he took part in instigating violence following his country’s 2007 presidential elections, when more than 1 000 people were killed.

Kenyatta has earned widespread praise for his decision, but Rok Ajulu, editor of Two Countries One Dream: The Challenges of Democratic Consolidation in Kenya and South Africa, says he cannot understand why Kenyatta’s stepping aside has created such a media storm.

“It might be the first, but it’s the normal way of doing things,” Ajulu says.

Kenyatta boarded a normal flight to the Netherlands, with very little security, and was mobbed by journalists. “This is a publicity stunt, and not a very good one,” Ajulu says, “because everybody knows Uhuru has a jet and security.”

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Book details

• Two Countries One Dream: The Challenges of Democratic Consolidation in Kenya and South Africa edited by Rok Ajulu
  EAN: 9780620431200
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