Another ICC witness against Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang yesterday withdrew from the case. The man refused to identify himself for security reasons and accused officials of the International Criminal Court of detention and intimidation.
In the statement signed yesterday, the man only identified himself by the code ICC – OPTC2/VWUK16. The first part stands for Office of the Prosecutor Case Two while the second is Victims and Witness Unit.
“I have been jailed, detained, humiliated and have seen every suffering that a human being can go through but I will not waiver and stand by falsehoods. While everything appears to be okay I and other witnesses I know of have undergone great psychological trauma, physical abuse and separation from families,” the witness wrote.
He said some ICC officials changed his evidence against his will and he was arrested for a year and his children sent into a foster home when he refused to sign it.
He said that the witnesses were taken to the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden in the Netherlands where they were coached and given tips on how to present the evidence in court.
“They inserted statements saying I said that I was in a meeting in Ruto’s home in Sugoi where guns were distributed to be used in post-election violence but I did not say anything of that kind,” the man claimed.
Another seven witnesses may withdraw from Ruto’s case before it opens next Tuesday, according to some sources. On Tuesday, the ICC granted ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda a total of 131 hearing days, approximately seven months, to present her case against Ruto and Sang.
This was after Bensouda revised her witness list from 46 to 40 as some were no longer willing to testify. “The Prosecution initially submitted that the estimated total time for the examination of prosecution witnesses is an average of 413 hours for 46 witnesses and subsequently submitted a revised estimate of 294-300 hours for 40 witnesses,” the judges said.
The news of the latest witness withdrawal came as MPs travelled back to Nairobi for today’s special session in Parliament where they will discuss Kenya and the ICC. Majority Leader Adan Duale is expected to move a motion asking MPs to ratify Kenya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute which established the ICC.
“That, aware that the Republic of Kenya promulgated a new Constitution on 27th August, 2010 which has fundamental changes in the circumstances relating to the governance of the Republic; aware that the Republic conducted its general elections on the 4th of March 2013 at which the President and Deputy President were lawfully elected in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya; further aware of a resolution of the National Assembly in the Tenth Parliament to repeal the International Crimes Act and to suspend any links, cooperation and assistance to the International Criminal Court ; this House resolves to introduce a Bill within the next thirty days to repeal the International Crimes Act (No 16 of 2008) and that the Government urgently undertakes measures to immediately withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on 17th July, 1998,” Duale’s motion reads.
The ICC is puzzled by the push to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute. Phakiso Machochoko, head of Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation at the ICC, said President Uhuru Kenyatta had given a public undertaking to appear before the court to clear his name on five charges related to the 2007-08 post- election violence.
“The calls for withdrawal are therefore a puzzle to ICC because the president and his deputy have declared they will appear before the court to clear their names. The deputy president even travelled to the Hague where he said will cooperate,” Phakiso said.
He was speaking yesterday during a public debate organised by the Institute of War and Peace Reporting at Strathmore University in Nairobi. “The calls for withdrawal are also a puzzle because the two are still abiding by conditions set by the court during the confirmations hearings. We should let the law takes it course,” Phakiso said.
The executive director of Kituo Cha Sheria, Gertrude Angote, said pulling out of the Rome Statute would be dangerous for Kenya’s political future. “We cannot want to pull out of the statute just because the top political leadership is in the dock. Justice should be delivered to the victims of the 2008 post election violence,” she said. Wilfred Nderitu, lawyer for the victims at the ICC, said the clamour for withdrawal was dishonest because Kenya is not synonymous with the political class.
– The Star
