Sunday March 24, 2013 - The International Criminal Court (ICC) witness who withdrew his testimony against Deputy President–elect William Ruto has told Nairobi journalists that the Office of the Prosecutor tried in vain last week to bribe him not to withdraw his testimony.
The witness, known as Samuel Kimeli Kosgeisaid officials from the ICC had made frantic efforts through telephone calls to have him stand with the evidence he had given.
“Despite my having instructed my lawyer that the ICC prosecutor or his officer should contact me through him, they have breached this and in the last 24 hours they have made concerted efforts to physically contact me without him knowing,” Kimeli said in an interview Saturday morning.
“Since yesterday (Friday) I have received over 20 telephone calls from ICC officials who arrived in the country specifically to contact me and have me recant my sworn affidavits…All the calls I have been receiving from an ICC trial attorney (name withheld) who has been seeking to meet me over my decision to swear affidavits annulling the statements attributed to me,” Kimeli revealed.
Kimeli also said the ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had also written to his lawyer Paul Gacheru seeking to meet him between March 20 and March 22 concerning the affidavits he swore, but the advocate declined as he had no instructions from his client.
Kimeli also maintained that he was initially bribed and coached by ICC operatives in Kenya to falsely testify against Deputy President William Ruto. He said he decided to recant his testimony after realising that he was being bribed to incriminate innocent Kenyans who did not participate in 2007-08 post election violence.
Kimeli said he fears for his life after he withdrew his statement from the ICC.
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