MPs yet to seek visas to escort Ocampo Six

By Evelyn KwambokaNo MP has applied for a visa to accompany the Ocampo Six to The Hague.
Contrary to media reports that close to 40 MPs will accompany Eldoret North MP William Ruto and his group, none of them had put in visa application papers by close of business yesterday.
Processing of a visa application to The Hague takes a minimum of three working days based on a Monday to Thursday working week of the visa section, and it may take up to two weeks.
"To this date, however, the embassy has not yet received visa applications from Members of Parliament in this context," said the Kingdom of Netherlands embassy’s First Secretary Political, Ms Camilla Veerman.
She said the embassy tries to accommodate urgent visa requests and treats them within the limits of their operational capacity.
She advised MPs wishing to observe the hearings next week to apply as soon as possible, adding that the embassy is committed to do the utmost to facilitate the travel plans of MPs and all others who want to observe the ICC hearings.
"The Netherlands Embassy has no intention to limit the number of Kenyans visiting the Netherlands in the context of observing the ICC hearings of April 7 and 8 at The Hague," she said.
Defence witnesses
Mr Ruto, Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, ODM Chairman Henry Kosgey, Postmaster-General Hussein Ali and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang have been summoned by International Criminal Court.
The court summoned them in connection with their alleged role in the post-election violence.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Mr Uhuru, Mr Muthaura and Major General (rtd) Ali have filed an application asking the court to modify one of the conditions it gave them when issuing summons.
The Government officials were ordered by the court not to have direct or indirect contact with any person who is believed to be a victim or a witness of the crimes for which they have been summoned. They sought to have the word "witness" substituted with "prosecution witness," thereby affirming their right to contact potential defence witnesses.
Acting as a single judge for Pre-Trial Chamber II, Justice Ekaterina Trendafilova ordered the prosecution led by Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo to file their response before close of business yesterday.
In her March 24 ruling, the judge reduced the 21 response days required by the law to four days in cognisant of the principle of expeditiousness. The judge also took into consideration that the subject matter of the defence’s request warrants a prompt resolution.