ICC chief prosecutor Moreno Ocampo is now seeking to hide the identities and details of two witnesses whose evidence is of help to the defence of suspects Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura and Hussein Ali. In honouring his obligation to disclose what is legally termed as “exculpatory evidence”, Ocampo has said the details of two witnesses whose evidence he considers mitigate the charges he has brought against the three must be hidden from the three. “There are objectively justifiable risks associated with the disclosure of the identity of Witnesses 0157 and 0159 because they reside in Kenya, are likely to possess valuable knowledge about the post‐election violence, are not under any protection from the Court, and are not known to be in any protection programme within Kenya,” Ocampo says in his request to hide the information.
He explains that the security of the two witnesses would be jeopardised “if the suspects perceive that they also possess information that is valuable to the Prosecution’s case.” He says the two may be forced to recant or stop their cooperation with the court.
Instead of him baring out all their information, Ocampo wants to be allowed to disclose anonymous summaries of their information. Most specifically, Ocampo wants to hide all features that may identify them. Such features include their names, signatures and initials, date and place of birth, names and number of children.
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