Kenya: Ruto Lawyers Seeks Legal Action Against ICC Staff, Witnesses
Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto is seeking to take legal action against various International Criminal Court (ICC) staff members and witnesses that testified against him.
Ruto had previously said he would forget about the matter but his lawyers are now accusing staff and witnesses of interfering in his lengthy trial . The DP is pushing for a neutral prosecutor to investigate six witnesses and the conduct of ICC staff throughout this trial.
Ruto hands out the accusations
The case against Ruto ended in a mistrial after a string of controversies involving the use of witnesses and statement changes. It was another embarrassing affair for the ICC, essentially rendering its case against the Kenyan deputy useless – and now it’s Ruto’s turn to point the finger.
He claims a number of witnesses deliberately lied during the trial, calling for an independent investigation into the statements they gave. It doesn’t end there, though. The DP also wants the prosecution intermediaries investigated for tampering with witness statements, bribery and lying in an attempt to have him found guilty of crimes against humanity.
The deputy’s council has singled out four witnesses and several prosecution intermediaries for tampering with evidence “by identifying and coaching witnesses to give false information during investigations, which then formed the basis of the case against Mr. Ruto”.
Accusations against ICC staff
Ruto isn’t stopping at accusing witnesses and the prosecution either. The DP also claims to have evidence that suggests some ICC members of staff were involved in sexual relations with witnesses or their relatives and cases of bribery.
“In addition, the defence submits that the prosecution evidence gives reason to believe that ICC staff members may have engaged in sexual relations with witnesses and their families, been bribed by witnesses,” Ruto’s case file said.
So it seems the ICC’s case against Ruto isn’t ready to fade away from the headlines just yet. And, more likely, it looks likely to become an even bigger embarrassment for the court than initially anticipated.
Featured image:
By Hypergio – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47958553