The International Criminal Court has thrown out a case against Kenya's deputy president William Ruto, citing a lack of evidence.
Mr Ruto had denied murder, deportation and persecution charges stemming from the violence that killed more than a thousand people following the country's 2007 elections.
The International Criminal Court has declared there is no case for Kenyan deputy president William Ruto and his co-accused, broadcaster Joshua Sang, to answer.
The pair were accused of encouraging murderous, inter-ethnic violence in Kenya after the country's 2007 elections.
An estimated 1,200 people were killed.
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In a split ruling, the court decided there was insufficient evidence but refused to acquit Mr Ruto.
Supporters of the deputy president took to the streets in Eldoret, in the west of the country, to celebrate.
Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta says the ruling brings to a close what he calls a nightmare for the nation.
William Ruto is one of the most senior politicians to be tried by the International Criminal Court after a case against President Kenyatta himself collapsed last year.
There has not been a conviction over the election violence that lasted for four months.
The court's Jelena Vukasinovic-Larmour says there is still a possibility further charges could be laid.
"According to the majority, this decision does not preclude new prosecution in the future, either at the ICC or in a national jurisdiction. The decision may be subject to appeal."
The Senior International Justice Counsel at Human Rights Watch, Elizabeth Evenson, says, for the one million residents impacted by the violence, that is little consolation.
"Well, today's decision really means that, at this point, for victims of the post-election violence that took place in Kenya in 2007 and 2008, victims of killings, victims who were displaced from their homes, it means that they may be left without any real prospect for justice. And that's because the government of Kenya broke repeated promises to hold trials in Kenya."
Laywers for the victims say the ruling is a disappointment and people need to be held accountable.
A trial monitor at the International Justice Monitor, Tom Maliti, says the decision will not bring comfort to the families of victims.
"This decision is obviously disappointing to victims. This was the most high-profile case concerning post-election violence after the December 2007 elections. The fact that it has reached this stage means that, for victims, there is very little else left for them in the courts, and, obviously, at the moment, they'll be in a state of disappointment."
The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 and has struggled to enforce its will in countries reluctant to cooperate.
The judges said the case against Mr Ruto became impossible because of political interference and threats to silence witnesses.
