ICC CASE INVOLVING RUTO TAKES A DRAMATIC TWIST

It is not clear why Paul Gicheru surrendered himself to the Hague. The lawyer had a warrant of arrest issued against him for witness tampering. Unless Kenyan government had handed him over to ICC, he could have stayed free forever. But he decided to take himself to Hague.

Paul Gicheru is accused of making Ruto’s case in the ICC collapse. He is the one who masterminded witness tampering that led to the eventual dismissal of Ruto and Sang’s case. It is alleged that some witnesses were paid to recant their statements while others simply disappeared never to be seen again.

Paul Gicheru was shocked to find that ICC has 30 secret recordings from the witnesses he tampered with. A panicked Gicheru said the secret recordings should not be used as evidence since they were obtained illegally. He accused ICC of taping phones against the law.

Gicheru was told by Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart that his argument does not suffice since the taping happened outside the country. Also the recordings were made six months before Ruto’s case formally started at the Hague.

Stuart also wants the court to compel Kenyan government to protect and enable availability of witnesses to ICC. He cites that the last time, the witnesses in Ruto’s case were not protected by the state.

“The investigation of the scheme to corruptly influence witnesses was accordingly urgently needed, not only for the purposes of a possible future prosecution but to protect the integrity of the trial by attempting to avert the mass exodus of prosecution witnesses,” he stated.

It is not clear if Gicheru’s case will lead to the resuscitation of Ruto’s case. His case was dismissed until sufficient evidence would be gathered.