FOURTEEN witnesses who will testify before the International Criminal Court have been put on lifetime protection and will not return home to Kenya after the trials. The witnesses along with 56 members of their families have been allocated safe homes in European countries.
Eight witnesses so far confirmed for lifetime protection are from Rift Valley while six are from Central Kenya. Six other witnesses including two from Nairobi and one from Western province are still considering their status.
Confirmation hearings for the cases against the Ocampo Six are expected in September this year. The six suspects who Ocampo wants charged are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Civil Service boss Francis Muthaura, former Police chief Gen Hussein Ali, Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and radio journalist Joshua Sang.
The Ocampo Six are facing charges of crimes against humanity for involvement in the violence that followed the disputed election of December 2007. “We have negotiated for lifetime protection and we will not be returning home because that will be too risky”, a key witnesses told The Star from his hideout abroad. Two other witnesses confirmed they were in the same position.
The witness said they had also declined the possibility of the ICC trials being held in Kenya or a neighbouring country for security reasons. For security reasons he said even their other relatives in Kenya did not know the location of their hideouts.
He confirmed that they were ready to give evidence in the confirmation hearings at the ICC in September. The witnesses are due to soon sign for the lifetime protection with the ICC and host countries. The witnesses from Central Kenya denied claims that they were coached to implicate the suspects named by Ocampo.
The witness said they relied on the office of the ICC Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo to ensure their lives were protected during and after the trials. “We know the risks involved and we have informed the ICC about all our concerns. They have put in place good mechanisms for our protection and we are ready for the process”, he said. The ICC Witness Protection Unit is still working on finer details on how the witnesses will live comfortably abroad.
Plans are underway to enroll their children to schools and engage the other family members in some form of employment but under tight security. Some witnesses have already visited the ICC at The Hague in Netherlands to familiarize themselves with the chambers and to confirm the evidence they are likely to give before the court.
So far no witness considered credible by the ICC has dropped out or withdrawn their evidence which also includes recorded material obtained during the poll violence that left more than 1,300 Kenyans dead.
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