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Ruto at The Hague to meet Ocampo

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 4 – Eldoret North Member of Parliament William Ruto is in The Hague to meet International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis-Moreno Ocampo over the 2008 post-election chaos.

An Aide told Capital News that Mr Ruto left on Wednesday night for the Netherlands in the company of former assistant Minister and Belgut MP Charles Keter.

His lawyer Katwa Kigen was due to join him at The Hague.
 
Mr Ruto is understood to have requested the meeting to record a statement with the International Criminal Court, which is investigating the violence that broke out after the disputed general election.

"I asked for an appointment with Ocampo and his group so that we can set the record straight and get to the truth," he is reported to have told journalists at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before his departure.

Mr Ruto, who was recently suspended from the Cabinet, is now willing to cooperate fully with the ICC in its probe.

He is expected back into the country over the weekend. 

The politician is among those whose names featured prominently in investigations into the post-election violence, in which more than 1,300 Kenyans lost their lives while an estimated 650,000 were displaced.

Mr Ocampo had last month revealed that a high ranking politician had written to him expressing willingness to appear voluntarily before the ICC and Mr Ruto confirmed he was the one shortly before he left the country.

During his visit in May, Mr Ocampo said that he would pursue two sets of crimes and in each prosecute two to three suspects; those that were committed by sponsored militias and other gangs and those committed by state agencies.

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Mr Ruto\’s departure came as Lands Minister James Orengo, who is a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on ICC-related matters revealed that alleged perpetrators can decide to appear voluntarily before the prosecutor.

Mr Orengo said Kenya\’s post election violence suspects may be spared arrest by the International Criminal Court.  Instead, they will be asked to voluntarily appear before The Hague court to answer charges of crimes against humanity.

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