Kenya: the road to political justice?

The first witness has testified before the International Criminal Court in the trial against Kenya's vice president, William Ruto. Together with president Uhuru Kenyatta and radio broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang, he has been accused of inciting the post-election violence in 2007. The trial has proved a challenge to the court, as several witnesses withdrew from the case.

2002 became a game changer in Kenyan politics. In the run-up to the elections, opposition leaders joined forces to oust the ruling KANU party. The National Rainbow Coalition proved a fragile alliance but it managed to bring its candidate Mwai Kibaki (pictured) into office. Daniel Arap Moi's 24-year-long presidency ended - it was the first political transition in Kenya's history.

The alliance between the former opposition parties faltered early on. During Kibaki's first term in office, Kenya's economy grew by up to 6 percent per year. But the coalition was marred by inter-party fighting. The coalition failed to introduce key reforms, such as a new constitution. With "Kibaki Tena" or "Kibaki Again", the president launched his re-election campaign in 2007.

The election year was littered with political wrangling, cabinet dismissals and the forming of alliances amongst Kibaki's opponents. Raila Odinga (pictured) became Kibaki's main rival in the race for the presidency. After Kibaki's narrow win in the 2007 polls, the opposition cried foul. As Kibaki was sworn in, Odinga's supporters took to the streets.

Ethnic rivalries and clientage have played a central role in Kenyan politics since the country's independence. Tensions between the country's main ethnic groups - the Kikuyu, the Luo and the Kalenjin - flared up after the polls. In the end, they led to outright violence. As neighbors turned against each other, machetes or "pangas" became the weapons of convenience.

The three months of violence that followed shocked both the international community and most Kenyans. The country had never seen violence on this scale before. The biggest outbreaks occurred in Nairobi's slums and in the neighboring Rift Valley province. Pictured above are protesters at a road block in Kisumu, Raila Odinga's main stronghold in western Kenya.

Around 1,200 people were killed during the ethnic clashes and half a million people had to flee their homes. The violence created new divides in the country as people moved to their ethnic homelands. In early 2013, the government claimed that over 700 families were still living in temporary camps. The new government has promised to resettle all remaining internal refugees this year.

In February 2008, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan managed to broker a peace deal. Kibaki remained president, while Odinga took up the newly created post of prime minister. Uhuru Kenyatta became his deputy. Both camps could also send an even number of members into the new cabinet. With 40 ministers and 52 deputies it became the country's largest.

After failing to install a local tribunal to bring those responsible for the violence to justice, the International Criminal Court (ICC) took over. In 2010, ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo named six suspects. Among them were some of Kenya's top politicians, the head of the police force and a radio presenter. Kenyans soon started calling them the "Ocampo Six". Three were later acquitted.

In late 2012, two of the "Ocampo Six" announced that they would contest the 2013 elections on one ticket. Under the deal, Uhuru Kenyatta ran for the presidency. William Ruto was selected as his running mate. Originally, they had been political archrivals. Kenyatta represents the Kikuyu ethnic group, Ruto is a Kalenjin. The ICC continued to investigate them and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

As up to 85 percent of Kenyan voters queued up, polling stations worked overtime. The electoral commission held the country in suspense for nearly a week until it released the election results. The election officials cited technical difficulties as the reason for the delay. The country however remained calm, despite opposition claims of possible election rigging.

As Kenya's new president Uhuru Kenyatta treads in the footsteps of his father, the country's first president, the shadow of the ICC still looms over him. The country now holds its breath. Many people are sceptical if the court will dare to sentence a sitting president and his deputy.