The defence team for Deputy President-elect William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua Sang has been visiting parts in Rift Valley listed by the International Criminal Court as areas where the 2007-08 post-election violence was allegedly planned.
Two foreign lawyers and other experts are in the team. They visited Ruto's home in Sugoi, Ziwa, Nandi Hills, Eldoret town and the Kiambaa KAG Church where more than 30 people died in a fire at the height of the violence that left more than 1,300 people dead and another 500,000 displaced.
Ruto and Sang are jointly charged with crimes against humanity at The Hague in connection with the poll violence. Also facing similar charges is President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta who had been jointly charged with former Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura.
The ICC will this evening hold a status conference on the impact the dropping of the case against Muthaura would have on that of Uhuru.
The hearing will also include discussion on an application filed by Uhuru's defence on February 5 asking that his case be referred back to the pre-trial chamber after the prosecution dropped one of its key witnesses.
The conference will kick off at 5pm Kenyan time and the two will be represented by their lawyers in The Hague. Though the two have appeared before the court as co-accused, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that she will be dropping the charges against Muthaura due to lack of evidence but Uhuru's case will go on.
Bensouda has asked presiding judges to drop charges against Muthaura due to lack of sufficient evidence. Sang accompanied the defence team on its visits but Ruto did not.
"They are just preparing the defense by visiting the areas cited so to understand them well ahead of the trials," said a tour guide who declined to be named. None of the lawyers could be reached for comment on the visits.
The hearing of the case against Uhuru and Muthaura had been moved to July 9, while that of Ruto and Sang will commence on May 28.
Bensouda has insisted that she has a water tight case against the suspects but the defence teams have punched holes in the evidence relied on by the prosecution to confirm the charges after some of the listed witnesses withdrew from the cases.
In the case of Uhuru and Muthaura, Bensouda claimed that a key witness had been bribed to withdraw his evidence but Muthaura has come out to deny that he ever intimidated witnesses.
The ICC has barred all its witnesses from freely communicating or making any contacts in the country to avoid interference with the witnesses.
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