By WAHOME THUKU and VITALIS KIMUTAI
Barring a contrary ruling by the Trial Chamber judges, it is almost certain that the two Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands will be heard after the general election.
Barring a contrary ruling by the Trial Chamber judges, it is almost certain that the two Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands will be heard after the general election.
It means that Deputy Prime Minister and Eldoret
North MP William Ruto are free men to run for office in the polls either as
presidential candidates or in any other capacity, unless Kenyan courts rule
otherwise.
The four suspects might have received the news
with a sigh of relief Monday when the Office of the ICC Prosecutor intimated it
was not opposed to a trial after March 2013. The mention of March was an
indirect reference to March 14, when the elections are scheduled.
The prosecution is unlikely to change its
position this morning when a similar conference is held in the case against
Uhuru and former Head of the Civil Service Francis Mathura.
It also emerged Monday that the late Internal
Security minister George Saitoti was listed to testify in the trial of the four
Kenyans at the International Criminal Court.
The other suspects are Deputy Prime Minister
Uhuru Kenyatta and former Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura.
During the status conference Monday, the ICC
prosecution condoled with the Kenya government following the death of the
minister.
“We have lost a key witness. Saitoti was one of
the witnesses in these proceedings,” the prosecutor said at the opening of the
session.
The late Saitoti’s appearance on the list of
witnesses may have been necessitated by the fact that in July 2009, he was
appointed chairman of a special Cabinet sub-committee to oversee the affairs of
the ICC in Kenya.
Other members of the committee were former
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, Trade minister Moses Wetangula then in Foreign
Affairs, Lands minister James Orengo, Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang and
Fisheries minister Amason Kingi.
The committee was to coordinate cooperation between
the ICC and the Kenya government during the investigations into the
post-election violence, which led to the indictment of the four suspects.
Saitoti hosted ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo during his visits at the height of the investigations.
Saitoti hosted ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo during his visits at the height of the investigations.
The minister was also vocal in defending
President Kibaki from any link to the post-election violence and the ICC
proceedings. He also held the position that only the Constitution could bar
Ruto and Uhuru from running for the presidency in which he was also preparing
to contest.
Investigations
ICC prosecutor Lara Renton made the one line acknowledgement that her office was not opposed to a March trial when the presiding judge of the trial Chamber Kuniko Ozaki asked her to be specific on which date they preferred.
ICC prosecutor Lara Renton made the one line acknowledgement that her office was not opposed to a March trial when the presiding judge of the trial Chamber Kuniko Ozaki asked her to be specific on which date they preferred.
“The prosecution has no problem starting the
trial after March 2013,” she responded.
That sent a sigh of relief among the defence lawyers David Hooper (for Ruto) and Katwa Kigen for Sang, who quickly acknowledged that they had no problem with a trial after March next year.
That sent a sigh of relief among the defence lawyers David Hooper (for Ruto) and Katwa Kigen for Sang, who quickly acknowledged that they had no problem with a trial after March next year.
And both Ruto and Sang were quick to put
themselves in the good books of the Trial Chamber at the earliest opportune,
pledging that they would be present during the entire trial. Their lawyers told
the Chamber that the two had made an undertaking and given their word that they
would abide by all the rulings made by the Chamber regarding their attendance.
The court will now pick trial date before the
end of July. If it accepts the submissions and picks March next year, it will
have given a reprieve to Uhuru and Ruto to up their campaigns for the
presidency.
Though debate will still be on as to whether the
two should be on the ballot with charges of crimes against humanity pending at
the ICC, a trial date after March will allay any fears they might have of being
recalled from their busy campaigns to face months of trial at The Hague.
It is mandatory under the Rome Statute for them
to be present during their trial.
Backers of Ruto and Uhuru have been pushing to
have the trial start after the March 14 election, by which time the country
will have settled from the dust of the campaigns. The Government, on its part,
has been pushing to have the cases transferred to Kenya.
The next dilemma will be how to handle the trial
should any of the two win the presidency.
The suspects had been allowed to keep their freedom by the Pre-Trial Chamber on condition that they desisted from making any utterances or behaving in any way that would trigger animosity and insecurity in the country. The Trial Chamber might adopt those conditions or set its own under the circumstances of the case.
The suspects had been allowed to keep their freedom by the Pre-Trial Chamber on condition that they desisted from making any utterances or behaving in any way that would trigger animosity and insecurity in the country. The Trial Chamber might adopt those conditions or set its own under the circumstances of the case.
If the court allows them to remain free during
the trial, it will have set precedence since all other suspects on trial at The
Hague are in the custody of the ICC.
The twin status conferences have been called as
a matter of procedure to discuss the trial date and other housekeeping maters.
Only Sang attended Monday’s session, accompanied by his lawyer Katwa Kigen.
It was, however, clear that even the prosecution
was not ready for an immediate trial. The prosecution indicated it was in the
process of interviewing more witnesses, and that disclosure material would be
finalised in the first quarter of next year.
The prosecution said they had 120 materials
ready for immediate disclosure, but the rest would need more time.
The defence team pushed for the disclosure of
identities of witnesses, material and redactions at least 45 days before trial,
while the prosecution had asked for full disclosure of the material in 30 days
before trial.
“We are reviewing prosecution material for
disclosure as soon as is possible,” Ms Lara said.
The languages to be used in the trial will
largely be English, Kiswahili, Kikuyu and Kalenjin.
The registry asked for the names of the
witnesses and the languages they would likely use, to enable it prepare for
interpretations.
immediate trial
The prosecutor explained that although they had asked for use of French, they did not have a particular witness.
The prosecutor explained that although they had asked for use of French, they did not have a particular witness.
“We are making the application because French is
one of the working languages of the court,” the prosecutor explained.
Katwa appealed to the Registry to consider
getting an interpreter, specifically from his Nandi sub-tribe of the Kalenjin.
The prosecution said it intended to make an
application for legal re-characterisation of Ruto’s case to change the nature
of his criminal responsibility for the violence.
They, however, clarified that they did not
intend to amend the charges against him, a situation that would legally send
the case back to the Pre-Trial Chamber.
William Samoei Ruto
ReplyDeleteFriends,the news from Netherlands gives me the strongest confirmation ever that prayer changes
situations. Thank you for standing with us and our families in the many sessions of fervent prayer across the country both in private and public. The devil of lies and falsehood will surely be ashamed. Thank God for everything and truly Bwana Yesu asifiwe!!