Two witnesses have withdrawn from testifying against President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) due to security concerns.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda informed Trial Chamber V (B) that they had also dropped a third witness whose evidence was no longer necessary.
“The Prosecution hereby notifies the Chamber of the withdrawal of three witnesses from its list of witnesses to be relied on at trial. This notification is designated “confidential, ex parte” because it contains security-related information about former Prosecution witnesses that, if disclosed to the parties or the public, may place the witnesses and/or their family members at risk,” Bensouda stated.
She said Witness 5 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify at trial due to security risks.
She said the witness believed that recent events in his life indicated efforts to discover his location and that there have been public speculation about his cooperation with the ICC.
“In sum, it appears that Witness 5’s concerns for his security [REDACTED] have become too great for him to bear, and he has decided to withdraw as a consequence,” Bensouda stated.
The ICC Chief Prosecutor said Witness 426 has informed the Prosecution that he is no longer willing to testify against President Uhuru despite discussions to meet his concerns about the case.
“These talks were unsuccessful and Witness 426 maintained that he was not willing to testify,” said the ICC prosecutor.
Bensouda said upon review, the prosecution decided to withdraw the evidence of Witness 334 as it was no longer necessary.
President Uhuru, his Deputy William Ruto and former radio journalist Joshua Sang are facing crimes against humanity charges at The Hague based ICC.
Some witnesses who were to testify against Ruto have already withdrawn.-standardmedia.co.ke
