The International Criminal Court yesterday accused six Kenyans, among them the son of the nation’s founder Jomo Kenyatta, of masterminding the 2007-2008 post-election violence that claimed 1,500 lives.

They included senior allies of President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga, now his prime minister in a power-sharing government brokered to end the unrest.

Those named include Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, sacked education minister William Ruto – a declared candidate for the 2012 presidential election – and former police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali.

The others are Francis Muthaura, the head of Kenya’s public service, Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey and radio executive Joshua arap Sang.

The court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters the six “are the most responsible, but of course there are many others... We concentrate on the most responsible... of course, Kenya can decide to prosecute more.”

Some of those named promptly proclaimed their innocence, while US President Barack Obama called on all Kenyans to cooperate with any ICC investigation.

“The post-election period of 2007-2008 was one of the most violent periods of the nation’s history,” said Mr Moreno-Ocampo, a dogged pursuer of rights offenders.

“These were not just crimes against innocent Kenyans,” he said. “They were crimes against humanity as a whole. By breaking the cycle of impunity for massive crimes, victims and their families can have justice. And Kenyans can pave the way to peaceful elections in 2012.”

The ICC said the carnage left more than 1,100 people dead, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced.

“During 30 days of violence, there were hundreds of rapes, possibly more, and over 100,000 properties were destroyed in six of Kenya’s eight provinces.”

The prosecutor indicated that the quest for justice was far from over.

“This is the beginning of a journey, there’s a long journey to justice in Kenya,” he said.