Sunday, November 25, 2012

‘In-laws’ to face off at ICC


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File |  NATION Lawyer Wilfred Nderitu has been appointed by the International Criminal Court judges to represent victims in the Ruto case.
File | NATION Lawyer Wilfred Nderitu has been appointed by the International Criminal Court judges to represent victims in the Ruto case. 
By  Emeka-Mayaka Gekara gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, November 24  2012 at  22:00
IN SUMMARY
  • International Criminal Court deputy prosecutor is married to a Kenyan woman
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When lawyer James Stewart flew to Africa in 1998, the job was already cut out for him. The Canadian had been retained by Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to try high-profile individuals charged with genocide.
One of them was Jean-Paul Akayesu, a former teacher, respected footballer and mayor, who was charged with more than ten counts of crimes against humanity.
The prosecution team, including Mr Stewart, proved that while being mayor of his hometown, he incited his people to join in the killing of the Tutsi and personally supervised the torture, rape, and murder of the victims.
He was arrested in October 1995 and arraigned before the ICTR and on September 2, 1998, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. This was the world’s first conviction for genocide by an international tribunal. Akayesu is serving his sentence in a prison in Mali.
After the case, Mr Stewart landed an appointment as the first chief of prosecutions at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and later returned to the ICTR in 2004-2007 where he served as the first chief of the Appeals and Legal Advisory Division.
It was during this interaction with Africa that the Canadian lawyer fell in love and married a Kenyan girl from Nyeri with whom they have two children. Because of the relationship, Mr Stewart makes regular visits to Kenya the last of them only a fortnight ago.
Now, in a dramatic turn of events, Mr Stewart, who was this week appointed deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, will spearhead the prosecution of his “in-laws”.
Stewart replaces Ms Fatou Bensouda, the former deputy prosecutor in charge of prosecutions who is now the chief prosecutor.
Four Kenyans – Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Amb Francis Muthaura, Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Mr Joshua Sang – have been committed to trial for crimes against humanity.
A lawyer who worked with him in Arusha described him as a “meticulous, hands-on and sober professional with excellent judgment”.
“He is a strong courtroom attorney, strong in argument and a solid grounding in international criminal law and practice,” said the lawyer who requested anonymity because of his engagement in one of the cases before the court.
Apparently, Arusha was a key launching pad, a convergence point for many of the lawyers involved in the Kenyan cases.
Ms Bensouda was a prosecution attorney at the Arusha tribunal. Meanwhile, Mr Chile Eboe-Osuji, the Nigerian trial judge in the Uhuru-Ruto case, was a senior legal officer to the judges of the Arusha tribunal.
The three were pitted against lawyers Ken Ogeto, Gershom Otachi and Wilfred Nderitu who were defending some of the Rwandese.
In a dramatic repeat of events, the Kenyan lawyers are set to rock horns with their former opponents in Arusha, this time with Mr Osuji as one of their judges.
Mr Ogeto defends Mr Muthaura while Mr Otachi, who was in the team of Hussein Ali, is said to have joined the Uhuru defence. Mr Nderitu has been appointed to represent victims in the Ruto case.

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