Lawyers for Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta asked International Criminal Court judges yesterday to drop crimes against humanity charges against him due to lack of evidence.

Prosecutors admit they don’t have enough evidence but say the Kenyan government has been obstructing their investigation by taking too long to hand over documents.

“This case has failed and it has failed in a way that means there is no prospect of it going further,” defence lawyer Steven Kay told the three-judge panel. “If the prosecutor does not intervene, you act to terminate.”

Prosecutor Benjamin Gumpert warned that dropping charges would be interpreted as “the court saying that if a country sticks out for long enough obstructing proper inquiries being made by the prosecution … then the case … will go away.”

The prosecution has asked the judges to adjourn the case indefinitely until Kenya fully co-operates with its investigation.