Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko joined Deputy President William Ruto at the Hague to show solidarity. He was accompanied by the Ruto-leaning Tigania East ODM MP Mpuri Aburi.
A source at the Hague reveals Sonko and Mpuri were arrested when they decided to take pictures all over the the Hague town, including those of security installations. This was after the two had earlier attempted to forcefully enter the Hague Court and ‘pass Ruto a message’.
The Hague police briefly detained the two until Ruto intervened, through Kenya’s ambassador’s office. However, an aide to Sonko denies this despite a video sent to this writer.
Meanwhile, the case against Ruto is crumbling. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has filed for postponement till late June. This was after a key witness was withdrawn from the case.
The witness P-0025, described previously as key to the prosecution, was withdrawn Wednesday evening just hours before he was due to take to the stand.
“Dear Chamber, dear counsel, I regret to inform the Chamber, parties and participants that, following the witness preparation session with witness P-0025 held on 14 May, the Prosecution has decided to withdraw him as a Prosecution witness,” an email of May 14 from senior trial lawyer Anton Steynberg announcing the prosecution’s decision states .
Mr Steynberg conceded that during the customary witness preparations before one takes the stand to begin testimony, the prosecution discovered that witness P-0025 unable to accurately recall, or give a coherent and consistent account of, critical parts of the evidence the prosecution had intended to lead from this witness.
“In the circumstances, the Prosecution does not consider that the witness’s evidence is sufficiently relevant or reliable to call as a Prosecution witness, particularly bearing in mind the limited court time available to the Prosecution and the consequent need to present the most cogent and reliable evidence. The Prosecution of course has no objection if the Defence wishes to consult with the witness with a view to calling him during the Defence case (subject to the provisions of the Protocol). I apologise to the Chamber and parties for the inconvenience occasioned by the late withdrawal of this witness,” Mr Steynberg said in the e-mail.
During the oral application Thursday, Mr Steynberg also informed the court of the prosecution’s application to have the current session deferred until the first week of June when the next prosecution witness 405 will be available.
-kenya-today.com
