Trial Chamber V(a) is hearing the case against William Ruto and Joshua arap Sang. Photo/ FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 29 – The sixth prosecution witness against Deputy President William Ruto and radio personality Joshua arap Sang spent his morning session on Tuesday, telling the International Criminal Court that he couldn’t remember most of the details he was being asked.
The witness only identified as P0268 kept using ‘I can’t recall’ as a response to most of his questions forcing prosecution lawyer Lucio Garcia to cut short the interrogation process and call for a private session.
According to his statement, the witness had said that he attended two rallies- one in Nandi Hills and the other in Kapsabet but he changed this narration saying he did not want to limit himself to those two rallies.
He added that he attended the Nandi Hills rally on the eve of the 2005 referendum and also after the referendum but could not remember what exactly was said.
Lawyer: Do you know the month when the rally took place?
Witness P0268: It was during the eve of referendum and after the referendum. I can’t remember the exact date and month.
Lawyer: What month was the referendum?
Witness: I don’t remember.
The witness also said that the rally at Nandi Hills took place at the Nandi Hills stadium while the one in Kapsabet took place at the Kapsabet stadium.
Witness: I remember a rally at the stadium.
Lawyer: What was the name of the stadium?
Witness: Nandi Hills stadium. That is what I know it as.
Lawyer: Do you remember where exactly the Kapsabet rally took place?
Witness: At the Kapsabet stadium.
He also said that former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Ruto and former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi were present at the rallies and that English, Kiswahili, and the ‘local language’ were used in the speeches.
According to his initial statement to the Court, the words ‘madoadoa’ and ‘kwekwe’ were used in the rallies but on Tuesday he told the Court that he could not remember what the reaction of the crowd was when these words were used.
Lawyer: Yesterday you said that you heard madoadoa and kwekwe in the rallies. When politicians used these words, what was the reaction of the crowd?
Witness: I can’t remember.
And while the witness also told the Court that he could not remember what exactly Ruto and Mudavadi said, he explained that Odinga used the rally to ask people not to support the 2005 draft Constitution.
He also said that Odinga spoke in the luo language during the rally.
Things got a bit murky for the witness when the lawyer asked him if he could remember whether or not Mudavadi made a speech and he responded by saying ‘he must have made a speech but I can’t remember the details of the speech’.
Trial Chamber V(a) Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji told the witness that his response to the question was not helping the Court and that he should either say that Mudavadi made a speech or that he did not make a speech.
“Do not tell us that he must have. We want your answer to be responsive to the question. He may have made a speech or may be not. It does not help us to tell us that he must have,” warned the Judge.
But after the private session, the witness seemed to have styled up a bit and gave better responses to questions.
And although he stuck to the name ‘Kapsabet Stadium’, he said that it might also be known as the Kipchoge Keino stadium.
He further told the Court that the rally was highly publicised on KASS FM and other channels but he could not remember which presenter broadcasted it.
According to the witness, thousands attended this rally and they were mostly Kalenjins, Luhyas and Luos.
His testimony continues.
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