DENIED EVIDENCE: DP William Ruto.
ALLIES of Deputy President William Ruto are demanding the removal of some senior government officials because they allegedly denied Ruto access to information he needed to defend himself at the ICC.
Ruto's lawyers requested officials in the Office of the President to give them evidence from the National Security Intelligence Service (now NIS) but they were refused.
"The DP's team wanted that information which was gathered by NIS and presented to the Waki Commission. It was held by some other officers in the Office of the President but these people decided not to give us the information. How can you deny the Deputy President information? So who are they loyal to if they are not loyal to the Deputy President? It is unacceptable," said an MP close to Ruto.
In an attempt to clear itself of allegations of negligence around the disputed election on December 27, 2007, the NIS may have unwittingly bolstered the ICC case against Ruto and other suspects.
The NSIS reportedly provided minutes of provincial security meetings dating from 2007/8 and other evidence to the commission of enquiry into post-election violence headed by Justice Philip Waki in 2008.
In their testimonies to the Waki commission, security officials including Gichangi said the spy agency had gathered intelligence on individuals who organised gangs of Mungiki and Kalenjin before and after the election.
On July 21, 2008, Gichangi testified that the NSIS had names of politicians who bankrolled the militias and requested to reveal their identities in private.
“We established they were politicians who were seeking elective posts as civic leaders and Members of Parliament as well as others from the private sector but, because of the sensitivity of the matter, we will avail that brief to the commissioners in private,” the NSIS boss said.
Gichangi also told the Waki Commission that youths took oaths to commit atrocities after the election with blessings from politicians. He said politicians had sometimes used coded language, asking their people to rise up and get rid of some communities.
“I want to tell them that we did our part, but the State security agents failed to respond as expected because they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the violence,” Gichangi told Waki.
The Waki Commission report also revealed that the NSIS collected information on the planning of violence in Naivasha by Mungiki members and politicians at local and national level.
The NSIS evidence was included in the Waki report as Exhibits 19 and 19A but was not made public. Ruto's allies now reportedly want to replace the NIS boss General Michael Gichangi.
Unconfirmed reports also indicate that Gichangi is lined up to be the President Uhuru Kenyatta's witness at the ICC when his trial begin next year in February.
Over the weekend Kericho senator Charles Keter called for the resignation of senior officials whom he said identified and coached witnesses against Ruto.
He did not name names but it is generally understood that Keter was referring to Interior PS Mutea Iringo and presidential chief political adviser Nancy Gitau among others. Ruto's lawyers alleged last week in The Hague that they were involved in the collection of evidence against him in 2008.
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