Two key Kenyan politicians charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court over deadly election violence five years ago launched a formal alliance Sunday as running mates for the presidential poll in March.
Former rivals Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will run for the presidency with ex-minister William Ruto as his deputy in the first polls since the post-election violence in 2007-2008 killed at least 1,100 people.
Thousands of supporters cheered as the pair formally unveiled their alliance at a rally in Nakuru, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) north-west of the capital Nairobi, one of the worst hit areas by the post-poll ethnic violence.
"Our union is not to attack anyone, but to build Kenya," Kenyatta said, after dancing alongside Ruto on a stage in a packed football stadium. "Our work is to preach peace, and make sure there is no blood spilt again."
"The journey to unite the country has started," Ruto told the crowds. "We have the leadership that can bring Kenyans together... to build a country based on equality."
Both Kenyatta and Ruto must also stand trial at the ICC for their alleged role in having orchestrated the post-election unrest that also displaced more than 600,000 people.
Kenya, as a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, would be forced to act on any arrest warrant issued by the court should the pair refuse to attend trial.
Kenyatta faces five charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts. Ruto faces three charges of crimes against humanity.
Both have proclaimed their innocence, remain free and have promised to cooperate with The Hague-based tribunal. The ICC trials, set to begin on April 10, could coincide with the election set for March 4, but which potentially could enter a second round vote within a month.
The alliance brings together Ruto's United Democratic Party (URP) and Kenyatta's The National Alliance party (TNA) under the slogan Umoja Kenya (Kenya Together).
The violence shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of stability in east Africa when the then-opposition leader Raila Odinga accused President Mwai Kibaki of rigging his way to re-election following the 2007 polls. What began as political riots quickly turned into ethnic killings of Kenyatta's Kikuyu tribe, which launched reprisal attacks, plunging Kenya into its worst wave of violence since independence in 1963.
Kibaki, who is standing down after finishing his two-term limit, comes from the same Kikiyu ethnic group as Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president.
The pair received a boost this week after the unexpected withdrawal of a petition seeking a court ruling on whether they are eligible to run, as under a new constitution adopted in 2010 those holding public office and charged with a crime must step down. However, fresh applications for a ruling have since been submitted.
But Ruto dismissed the application, saying that "it is up to Kenyans to elect leaders, and not the courts." Several presidential hopefuls are expected to unveil alliances ahead of a Tuesday deadline, including Kenyatta's expected main challenger, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, himself a former ally of Ruto.
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