Yes, we were paid and housed to 'nail Ruto'

By Standard Team
Kenyans continued to be treated to fresh revelations over the handling of witnesses allegedly bribed and coached by a rights body to incriminate certain leaders over post-election violence. On Thursday, Eldoret North MP William Ruto sought the intervention of the courts and the Criminal Investigations Department to get to the bottom of the matter. At the same time, two of
three witnesses, who had early this week sworn affidavits disowning evidence allegedly procured in questionable circumstances by Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and specifically Commissioner Hassan Omar Hassan, took journalists to their posh city safe houses allegedly fully rented for them by the rights body, complete with a handsome living allowance.
Both houses were within striking distance of the rights body’s headquarters in Kilimani area of Nairobi.
The KNCHR commissioners, who have of late decided to comment on the raging issues as a team, were unavailable for comment over yesterday’s turn of events.
However, they had on Wednesday strongly denied claims that they compromised witnesses to slant their evidence.
The commission had also denied Ruto’s claims that the commission obtained information from six people in questionable circumstances, instead insisting that it had recorded "a total of 1,102 statements from several sources".
They included 46 senior police officers across the regions visited and 40 members of the Provincial Administration, who comprised Provincial Commissioners, District Commissioners, District Officers and Chiefs.
The informants also included 33 councillors, 10 then sitting MPs, former MPs and affected Kenyans, commission chairman Florence Simbiri-Jaoko said.
"All these people gave the information of their own volition. The commission did not hire, bribe, influence or coach the witnesses," she said at a press conference in which Hassan Omar declined to comment as an individual.
Yesterday, Ruto recorded a statement at the CID Headquarters over allegedly doctored witness statements linking him to post-election violence and demanded that Commissioner Hassan be investigated over his role.
Later in the afternoon, Chief Justice Evan Gicheru fixed the dates for the hearing by a three-judge Bench of a case filed against the KNCHR by the suspended minister.
Though he did not name the panel of judges, Gicheru fixed the hearing for February 22 and 23, next year.
The minister moved to court through lawyer Katwa Kigen and is challenging authenticity of the KNCHR report, for which he says he was never given a chance to defend himself.
Evidence linking himRuto said there was no evidence linking him to the violence, and that the allegations against him "are a result of an illegality, irrationality, breach of the rule of law, disregard of constitutionality and denial of legitimate expectations."
Lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee appears for the commission.

William Kipkemboi Rono (Left) and Ken Braziz Wekesa (Right) allege to have been coached and bribed by a rights body to implicate Eldoret North MP William Ruto in the post-election violence.

Yesterday, Ruto visited the Mazingira Building off Kiambu Road — which houses Kenya’s top sleuths — and formally lodged the complaint against Hassan and the commission for what he termed as "very serious allegations" against him.
"I have made a formal complaint with the CID against KNCHR and in specific Mr Hassan Omar. This was after the commission was unable to answer questions I raised. It seems it has something to hide," said Ruto.
He accused the commission of trying to subvert the course of justice "by bribing witnesses to link me" to the 2007 post-election violence.
The exchange between Ruto and KNCHR began after the MP returned from The Hague on Monday, to a grand reception from his supporters.
For the last 10 months until yesterday, William Kipkemboi Rono and Ken Braziz Wekesa lived lavishly in the up-market Kilimani estate in Nairobi while drawing Sh60,000 each for doing nothing.
They lived in the fully furnished posh apartments along Lenana and Chaka roads, where the KNCHR officials allegedly paid house rent.
"I moved here on January 19, 2010, after I was approached by Omar Hassan in Kitale to give evidence on election campaigns between PNU and ODM and the violence after elections until yesterday when I decided to move out," said Rono.
His house was located at Silverpool Apartments directly opposite CVS Plaza, which houses the KNCHR offices while Wekesa lived at the adjacent Ler Apartments on Chaka Road.
Rono lived in a three-bedroom house on the second floor with polished wooden tiles, a fully-equipped kitchen with electrical appliances, spacious bedroom lined with mahogany wardrobes and equipped with a large bed spread with fine linen, a large fridge, a washing machine, a TV set among other home appliances.
The dining room was also fully furnished with six-seater dining table.
Sources said rental charges for houses at both apartments go for Sh115,000 and Sh120,000 per month at Silverpool and Ler apartments respectively.
On the adjacent Chaka Road lived Wekesa, also in similar opulence, and at one time even contemplated relocating his family from North Nandi to Nairobi. Security at both compounds was tight and the gatekeepers have telephone connections with all house occupants at the apartments.
Know the truthBack at the CID Headquarters, Ruto said many Kenyans wanted to know the truth behind the violence in which more than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds of thousands others displaced. Ruto, who was alone and dressed in a black suit, arrived at the CID headquarters at about 12.50 pm and left at 2.30 pm.
He first talked to the deputy CID director Futu Mwachai before he was handed over to Mr Danson Diru of Serious Crimes Unit to take his statement. Ruto first made the claims of witnesses being coached and bribed by Commissioner Hassan to fix him on Tuesday.
KNCHR came out the following day to deny the allegations and challenged the Eldoret North MP to table his evidence.
Yesterday, Rono said he had moved out of the fully furnished apartment on Lenana Road where he had stayed in since March, and received Sh60,000 monthly stipend. Mr Rono further claimed that he had been coached to lie against Mr Ruto but had now decided to quit the conspiracy.
"I was in PNU during the 2007 elections and I gave false statements to link ODM leaders to the violence.
"But I have realised now that was politics then and I am regretting my statements. I don’t want any more help from the commission," Rono added.
Wekesa, who is from Eldoret, also surrendered the fully furnished apartment in Kilimani.
"Every month, I was getting money, Hassan was in touch with me from time to time and he repeatedly urged me to stand by my story and not withdraw my evidence against Ruto but today, I am publicly saying I have to do so," said Rono.
It was Rono who directed journalists to the apartment where Wekesa was allegedly being housed by the KNCHR. Once there, journalists waited for about 20 minutes before Wekesa arrived in a taxi and led the team to his house.
He claimed he was coached to implicate Ruto in the poll chaos and was initially paid Sh10,000 per month, but which later went up to Sh60,000 a month.
A nurse by profession, Wekesa claimed he had decided of his own volition to come out and publicly speak out against Omar.
He said he was to be paid Sh1.5 million after giving evidence at the ICC. "Unfortunately, I was informed that my testimony was not strong as (ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno) Ocampo was seeking strong evidence to nail Ruto," Wekesa said.’