By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com AND PAUL OGEMBA pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com ( email the author)
Posted Wednesday, February 6 2013 at 20:47
Posted Wednesday, February 6 2013 at 20:47
In Summary
- At the end of next week Jubilee coalition presidential election pair will know from the Kenya High Court whether they are eligible to vie for office; while The Hague makes decisions on their trial for crimes against humanity on Thursday next week.
Presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto face an anxious nine days as they await decisions on whether they will be on the ballot and a timetable for their trials at The Hague.
On Thursday next week, the Jubilee alliance leaders will know the schedule of the cases facing them at the International Criminal Court.
And on Friday next week, the Kenyan High Court will decide on their eligibility to vie for public office.
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have asked the ICC Trial Chamber to alternate the hearings of their cases to make it possible for them to govern the country without interruption should they win the March 4 elections.
Mr Ruto will be the first in the dock at The Hague on April 10, with Mr Kenyatta’s case starting the following day.
They are accused alongside former Kass FM radio journalist Joshua Sang and former public service head Francis Muthaura.
On Wednesday, their defence teams were busy grappling with ICC judges’ decision to order them to attend the status conference either in person or through a video link on February 14 to lay the ground on how the trial proceedings will be conducted.
Lawyer Kindiki Kithure representing Mr Ruto said their client was likely to opt for the video link since he was deeply involved in the campaigns.
“For us, we will see the best way forward. We will see which is the most appropriate option to meet the demands of the court now that they have given the possibility of the video link. Because we are in campaigns, we might resort to a video link instead of going to spend three days at The Hague,” Prof Kithure said on phone.
Mr Karim Khan, who is the lead lawyer for Mr Muthaura, was cautious on whether his client will fly to The Hague.
“I cannot tell you what I will advise my client to do. I am filing with the court now and if the document is made public, you will get more information,” he said.
However, sources close to the legal team indicated that Mr Muthaura will attend the status conference in person.
In Nairobi, a five-judge bench on Wednesday heard submissions from lawyers for Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto in a case questioning their suitability to contest the presidency and set the ruling date on February 15.
Their lawyers put up a spirited fight to have the case filed by Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and International Centre for Policy and Conflict (ICPC) dismissed.
They challenged the High Court jurisdiction to determine their suitability to vie for leadership despite facing criminal charges at the ICC, arguing that the civil society organisations were misusing the courts at the behest of foreign interests.
However, their attempts to have the case adjourned to seek more evidence to defend themselves was dismissed with the five-judge bench allowing the hearings to proceed.
The Attorney-General, through state counsel Stella Munyi, supported Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto’s submissions to have the cases dismissed, arguing that the court should not be called to decide on hypothetical issues.
Ordered to attend
At the ICC, Trial Chamber judges Kuniko Ozaki, Christine Van den Wyngaert and Chile Eboe-Osuji ordered the four suspects to attend the status conference.
The conference will discuss the terms issued to the suspects by the Pre-Trial Chamber when it confirmed charges of crimes against humanity brought against them by then ICC Prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.
The charges stem from the 2007/2008 post-election violence in which at least 1,133 people were killed and more than 650,000 displaced from their homes.
“The main purpose of the status conference is to discuss the conditions of the summonses to appear issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber, as well as to address any practical, financial and/or legal matters related to the attendance of the accused at trial, including the modalities of the accused’s stay on the territory of the host State during the trial,” the judges said.
This means that the conditions surrounding the free bond which the suspects were handed by the Pre-Trial Chamber will come into focus.
While delivering the ruling of the Pre-Trial Chamber, judge Ekaterina Trendafilova cautioned the suspects against interfering with witnesses, mobilising their communities in a manner that could lead to violence; freely holding meetings between them, and inciting the public. (READ: Muthaura accuses ICC prosecutor of leaking witness details)
Still, the conference will agree on the length of the proceedings and any breaks that defence teams of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have proposed.
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