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23 January 2012 Last updated at 12:28 GMT 
Some 1,200 people were killed in violence after the 2007 elections Two presidential candidates in Kenya are to stand trial over crimes against humanity following post-poll violence in 2007, the International Criminal Court has ruled.
Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto will both face charges.
They are among four prominent Kenyans - all of whom deny the accusations - who will stand trial.
Charges against a further two officials were not confirmed by the Hague court.
Mr Kenyatta will stand trial with cabinet secretary Francis Mutaura.
The pair are accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.
Former Education Minister William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang will stand trial in a separate case, as they were on opposite sides during the 2007 election.
More than 1,200 people were killed in weeks of unrest and some 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Many still remain homeless.
'Break with impunity'The violence began as clashes between supporters of the two rival presidential candidates - Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki - but it snowballed into a bloody round of score-settling and communal violence.
Continue reading the main storyKibaki allies in 2007
Uhuru Kenyatta, deputy PM and finance ministerFrancis Kirimi Muthaura, secretary to the cabinetMohammed Hussein Ali, former police chief - charges not confirmedOdinga allies in 2007
William Ruto, former education ministerJoshua Arap Sang, radio executiveHenry Kosgey, former minister for industrialisation - charges not confirmed"It is our utmost desire that the decisions issued by this chamber today bring peace to the people of the Republic of Kenya and prevent any sort of hostilities," ICC presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova said.Kenyans are due to head to the polls in fresh elections early next year.
Ms Trendafilova stressed that the decisions do not mean guilty verdicts against the suspects, only that there is sufficient evidence to send them to trial.
"We are not passing judgment on the guilt or innocence of the individuals," she said before a public hearing held in The Hague.
The news of the trials was welcomed by international campaign group Human Rights Watch.
"The ICC trials will break with decades of impunity in Kenya for political violence," the group said in a statement."But Kenya should act to widen accountability by carrying out prosecutions at home."
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had asked to bring two separate cases, reflecting the political and ethnic divisions behind Kenya's post-election violence.
Mr Kenyatta, a supporter of President Kibaki, is accused of organising a campaign of violence including murder and rape against Odinga supporters.
Prosecutors say he met members of a secretive criminal organisation known as Mungiki at a shopping centre in Nairobi before the election in 2007 to arrange some of the attacks.
Continue reading the main story December 2007: Violence explodes after disputed poll. 1,200 people killed, thousands displaced by fighting.April 2008: Power-sharing deal is signedNovember 2009: ICC chief prosecutor says will seek to investigate post-poll violenceAugust 2010: New Kenyan constitution agreedDecember 2010: ICC names suspectsMay 2011: ICC rejects Kenya's bid to halt election probe January 2012: ICC confirms charges against four suspectsHe denied the accusation at a preliminary hearing at the ICC last September.Mr Kenyatta, son of the country's first President Jomo Kenyatta, is hoping to stand in next year's presidential poll, with analysts suggesting that he has a realistic chance of winning.
Mr Ruto, a former education minister, described the charges against him as "strange" and emphasised that he still intends to put himself forward for the presidency.
"I am firmly still in the presidential race, the charges confirmed against me will not affect it," Mr Ruto said from Nairobi.
He and Mr Sang backed Mr Odinga in 2007 and are accused of organising attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as Kibaki supporters.
Mr Sang said the news of the trial had come as a "big disappointment" but said he would contest the charges.
Kenya's government has been lobbying for the cases to be dropped - a position endorsed last year by the African Union.
Mr Kibaki was eventually declared the winner of the 2007 election, and is serving his second and final term as president.
Mr Odinga was installed as prime minister under a power-sharing deal brokered by Kofi Annan to end the violence.
Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga have since fallen out and are expected to face each in the elections.
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