THE trial against Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang continued yesterday with the testimony of the ninth witness. Ruto was in attendance as the prosecution continued with the examination in chief of Witness 356 which has been held in private since the trial resumed last week.
It is therefore unclear the kind of evidence that the witness has given to the court. Though the prosecution has over the trial period had most of its sessions in private, the defence has on most occasions preferred to question the witnesses in public.
Ruto is however only required to be at The Hague until Wednesday, after the court granted him excusal from continuous presence in his case. The court ruled that the DP is required to be in Court for the first five days of hearing, starting after a judicial recess, among other conditions.
They however excused him on Thursday and Friday last week as he was not be in a position to travel out of the country owing to the fact that President Uhuru Kenyatta was away in Angola.
The ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is expected to appeal the decision by the trial judges despite the Assembly of State Parties having amended the rules to allow excusal of persons with “extra-ordinary duties”. The Ruto-Sang trial on crimes against humanity committed during the 2007-08 post-election violence started on September 10 last year.
Source-the-star.co.ke
