Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta's UK visit causes inevitable controversy

Sky News' decision to label a story on the visit as 'Criminal president' angers Kenyans

Uhuru Kenyatta is charged with crimes against humanity (AFP/Getty Images)

The inevitable controversy surrounding the London visit by Kenya's indicted president Uhuru Kenyatta has sparked something of a backlash in East Africa. Mr Kenyatta, who faces trial at The International Criminal Court (ICC) over his alleged role in orchestrating violence after an election in 2007, was unexpectedly invited to the UK to attend a conference on Somalia.

The debut foreign trip by the first man to seek election while under ICC indictment was bound to be scrutinised. However, the decision by British broadcaster Sky News to bill him as the “criminal president” in a headline was attacked by hordes of Kenyans on social media. The Twitter hashtag #someonetellSKY has been trending in East Africa since Sunday, with outraged Kenyans venting their spleen. Mr Kenyatta turned the tribunal's case against him to his own advantage during his recent election campaign, saying the prosecution was a violation of national sovereignty. His campaign railed against foreign conspiracies and stoked anti-colonial feeling to great effect.