Reprieve for Jubilee duo over Hague trials

Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate, Mr William Ruto, can now focus on their State House campaigns after The Hague prosecutor said their cases could as well start in August. This means that if the Trial Chamber judges sanction the proposal by International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (above), the trial dates will shift from April 10 and 11 to August, paving the way for Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto to execute their State House dream, even if the race goes to a run-off. Lawyers for the two had argued nearly two weeks ago during the Status Conference that they were not prepared for the start of the trials on grounds that Ms Bensouda had shifted the scope of the cases and introduced new evidence. Defence teams for their fellow ICC suspects Francis Muthaura and Joshua arap Sang advanced arguments along the same line, stating that the ICC prosecutor had ambushed them with fresh details which required time to prepare. In her submission on Tuesday, Ms Bensouda dismissed the arguments of the defence teams, but said the April date could be pushed to August due to lack of courtrooms at The Hague and safety of witnesses. “An August 2013 start date would therefore provide the defence with several months after receiving the delayed disclosure witnesses’ identities and unreducted materials to review those materials and conduct the associated preparations before trial begins,” she said. She defended her office from accusations of failing to meet deadlines for disclosure of evidence and witnesses, saying that her team was ready for the trials. “The prosecution is ready for trial and wishes trial to proceed. At the same time, the prosecution recognises that logistical constraints such as courtroom availability make a trial on April 11, 2013, unlikely. Therefore, the prosecution does not object to a reasonable adjournment, to allow time for protective measures to be put in place for the witnesses whose identities remain to be disclosed and to provide the defence with adequate time to prepare,” she said. Aware that her decision may not go down well with victims of the post-election violence, she was categorical that the Trial Chamber chaired by Judge Kuniko Ozaki should assure them that the trials will not delay. “It is also important for the Kenyan public, and particularly the victims of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, to be assured that the trial will, in fact, commence in the coming months,” she said. Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ruto, Mr Muthaura and Mr Sang are facing charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the 2007/08 post-election chaos in which 1,133 people were killed and another 650,000 displaced from their homes. The case facing Mr Ruto and Mr Sang was set to begin on April 10 while that of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Muthaura was to take off the following day. However, when their defence team went before the Trial Chamber judges Ozaki, Christine Van den Wyngaert and Chile Eboe-Osuji, they accused Ms Bensouda of “a massive violation of rules” by introducing new evidence and new witnesses without allowing them sufficient time to prepare. They argued that a fair trial would be impossible unless they are allowed more time to prepare cases afresh. Mr Karim Khan representing Mr Muthaura and Mr Stevens Kay, appearing for Mr Kenyatta, accused the Office of the Prosecutor of ambushing them with new evidence and witnesses at the 11th minute, leaving them with no time to prepare their defence. They submitted that the prosecutor had engaged in blatant breach of professionalism and adoption of delaying tactics. “We get to a situation where a fair trial is impossible not because of us but because of massive violation of rules of the Office of the Prosecutor. There is a pattern in this court where the Office of the Prosecutor is not taking its disclosure duties seriously,” Mr Khan told the Chamber.