Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, has dropped all charges of crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The charges against Kenyatta -- which accused him of murder, rape, persecution, deportation and the instigating and financing of tribal violence that resulted in the murder of over 1,000 people -- were dropped due to a lack of evidence and the court's difficulty in bringing to justice high officials who were accused of atrocities, according to The Associated Press.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda withdrew the charges with the stipulation that she reserved the right to file charges against Kenyatta again should she receive more evidence.

On learning the news, Kenyatta released a statement, declaring his excitement and relief over the announcement, which he saw as overdue by six years. Despite Kenyatta’s indictment in 2011, he went on to win the presidency in Kenya in its 2013 election.

“It has always been my position that the Kenyan cases at the ICC were rushed there without proper investigation or preparation, and sustained by a strong interest to stigmatise accused persons," said Kenyatta, who went on to admonish the ICC. “There is no justice when human rights clubs and an international tribunal conspire to betray victims of human rights abuses and persecute the innocent. The tragedy of this travesty is beyond words.”

Steven Kay, Kenyatta's British lawyer, said the ICC and its prosecutors now owe an apology to President Kenyatta “for bringing proceedings based upon false witnesses and impugning his integrity in such circumstances."

Kenyatta's trial was postponed twice this year as prosecutors scrambled to strengthen their case after one key prosecution witness refused to testify and another admitted to offering false evidence.

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