For UhuRuto, Its a Case of Let The Sleeping Dogs Lie

There has been so much hullabaloo around the ICC cases involving the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his co-accused deputy president William Ruto. The two ended up at the ICC following the violence that engulfed different parts of Kenya leading to the death of more than 1200 people while thousands others were rendered homeless and displaced in internally displaced people's camps (IDP), as neighbour turned against neighbour to settle old scores. The genesis of tribal clashes in Kenya have a very long history but the most politically charged has always involved the Kalenjin and the Kikuyu communities in the Rift valley. The latter are said to have been settled there illegally by the first president of Kenya who happens to be the father of the current sitting president, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto at a past political rally.

The violence resulted after the then opposition party Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), lead by their party leader Raila Odinga, accused the Party of National Unity (PNU) led by the former president Mwai Kibaki, of rigging the 2007 elections. Mwai Kibaki was declared the duly elected president and sworn in by the defunct electoral body (ECK) officials late in the evening before fundamental issues raised by the opposition were addressed. The losers of the elections, threatened to call for mass action if their grievances were not adequately addressed, including, but not limited to, a recount of votes from areas where massive rigging was reported to have occured. That is when all hell broke lose in the country.
William Ruto, using his vernacular in public rallies, was accused of inciting the Kalenjin community to attack the Kikuyu community settled in the Rift Valley at the time and who voted for Mwai Kibaki.They were derogatorily referred to as "madoa doa" - to mean spots or unwanted people in swahili- following the election loss.
Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand was seen as the Kikuyu "saviour" by his people and is reported to have mobilised Kikuyu vigilante groups and resources clandestinely in order to counter this onslaught from the Kalenjin people since Mwai Kibaki - who mainly relied on state machinery, perceived to be partisan at the time-apparently was not doing enough or moving first enough to save the suffering people.
William Ruto, who was one of the key members of ODM party, later on fell apart politically with his party leader Raila Odinga who at the time was the Prime Minister in a coalition government crafted by the coalition of eminent personalities led by Kofi Annan as an attempt to stem the violence which was getting out of hand. Ruto felt betrayed and abandoned by the same man he fought for, after Raila Odinga failed to defend him when his name was mentioned among the key suspects of the post election violence set to face charges at the international criminal court (ICC) at the Hague in the Netherlands.
Prior to this, the political opponents both from ODM  and PNU political parties, failed to set up a local judicial mechanism to bring to book the perpetrators of the violence that rocked the country. At the time, the two sides felt that their supporters were justified in what they did, and subjecting them to a local judicial process would amount to utter betrayal and a slap in the face. The cases were therefore referred to the ICC through the famous/infamous envelop containing names of key financiers and organisers of the violence. This was one of the recommendations by judge Philip Waki who was the chairperson of the commission investigating the violence and crimes following the elections.

Youths in carry Raila Odinga's portrait during the violence (Reuters)

Several key government officials including members of the opposition party like William Ruto were named as key suspects by the former ICC chief prosecutor Lois Moreno Ocampo and the rest as they say is history.
Following this predicament, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta became unlikely allies who felt victimised for what they may or may not have done. In the 2013 elections, Uhuru Kenyatta & Ruto decided to run as president and deputy president respectively, which pundits perceived at the time as a scheme to shield them from persecution once they ascend to power.
It's against this backdrop that one can only conclude that these two gentleman CANNOT set up a local tribunal to try the so-called small fish, consisting of foot soldiers who killed, maimed, raped, drove away populations, destroyed and stole properties of other innocent Kenyans, all of which amounts to crimes against humanity. Confronting the ghost of the 2007 post election violence, would be a threat to their coalition government since it would involve persecuting their loyal supporters. Even setting up a truth, justice and reconciliation mechanism seems like a tall order when there's an easier option of burying your head in the sand as it were.
Unless Kenyans confront the truth, the historical enmity between the Kikuyu, Kalenjin  and any other communities out there would remain a powder keg whose explosive potential would always rely on the existing political coalitions and atmosphere, while innocent people continue to live on the edge not knowing how tomorrow would turn out if they happen to be on the wrong side of politics.
Setting up reconciliation commissions would only go too far especially when they are politically driven and lacking in credibility and transparency. As long as historical injustices and crimes against humanity remain unresolved in this country, successive governments will always be haunted until justice is not only done, but is seen to have been done!