Ruto wants all cases cleared by April

On Friday, Mr Ruto (above) and his lawyers spent more than 11 hours answering questions from the ICC officials. Photo/FILE

By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nation
Posted Sunday, November 7 2010 at 22:16

Eldoret North MP William Ruto (right) wants to have cleared all cases against him by April next year.

That was one of the reasons, sources said, that the suspended Higher Education minister visited the International Criminal Court at The Hague last week to respond to allegations raised by some witnesses and two key reports on the post-election chaos.

On Sunday, his lawyer, Mr Katwa Kigen, said that the MP took the bold step of going to the ICC to set the record straight about his suspected role.

Mr Kigen was categorical that their mission at The Hague was not to give evidence that would implicate other leaders in government.

“What we came here for does not concern anyone else. We came here for the sake of our client and that has been the basis of our submissions,” he told the Nation.

There was speculation that the MP could have implicated other leaders, likely to have had a bigger stake in the disputed 2007 presidential elections result that plunged the country into chaos.

Mr Kigen, who represented Mr Ruto alongside fellow lawyer Kithure Kindiki before the ICC officials, was expected to arrive in the country on Sunday night.

The suspended minister and Belgut MP Charles Keter are expected at JKIA on Monday morning.

Mr Ruto, who requested for the meeting with ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, was mentioned in the report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and alluded to in the Waki Commission on the causes of the violence in which 1,133 people were killed and at least 650,000 displaced from their homes.

On Friday, Mr Ruto and his lawyers spent more than 11 hours answering questions from the ICC officials. The questioning took another eight hours on Saturday.

During the sessions, Mr Kigen said they made oral and written submissions in an attempt to free Mr Ruto from the allegations. “We hope that they now understand the role our client (Mr Ruto) played,” he said.

It is understood that besides clearing his name, he wants the Sh96 million case and another one in an Eldoret court resolved. The case will be heard from January 24, next year.