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I assumed Kiptindinyo was an alias – ICC witness

Witness P0268 had claimed on October 29 that there were two frequent callers to Sang's Lene Emet Kass FM show who used the pseudonyms Kiptindinyo and Kamili/FILE

Witness P0268 had claimed on October 29 that there were two frequent callers to Sang’s Lene Emet Kass FM show who used the pseudonyms Kiptindinyo and Kamili/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 5 – The sixth prosecution witness against Deputy President William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang has told the International Criminal Court (ICC) he was surprised that the names Kiptindinyo and Kamili were not pseudonyms, as he had earlier stated.

Witness P0268 had claimed on October 29 that there were two frequent callers to Sang’s Lene Emet Kass FM show who used the pseudonyms Kiptindinyo and Kamili.

At the time, he explained that the calls by the two always went through to the presenter while other people had difficulties calling in.

But on Tuesday, Sang’s lead lawyer Katwa Kigen pulled a surprise on the witness informing him that both Kiptindinyo and Kamili were real names of people who are alive.

It emerged that Kiptindinyo is Ruto Kiptindinyo who is now the Nandi Hills Town Ward Representative while Kamili’s full name is Kamili Ng’etich, a resident of Kaptuma in the Rift Valley.

“I have shown you a document and you recall saying that in your estimation Kiptindinyo is a pseudonym,” asked Kigen.

“Yes,” the witness said.

“Can you see that he is actually a County Assembly member?” asked Kigen.

“Yes,” responded the witness.

“Are you surprised that in fact the persons you said were using pseudonyms may actually be having those names as their real names?” asked Kigen.

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“I am surprised,” admitted the witness.

Kigen further asked the witness to read out several statements that had been translated from Kalenjin into English on what Sang had said during his shows.

The lawyer told the court and the witness that these transcripts had been prepared by the British Broadcasting Corporation on behalf of the Office of the Prosecutor before being obtained by the Defence.

According to the transcripts, Sang called for peace several times and even dedicated his show to prayers on behalf of the Kenyan people at the height of the 2007-8 violence.

The statements also indicate that Sang urged people not to go to the streets to demonstrate despite the fact that they had been asked to do so by the Orange Democratic Movement after former President Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of the 2007 General Election.

“You already told us that the ODM said people should come out and fight but you’ll remember that on January 18, 2008, Sang asked people to stay at home?” asked Kigen.

“Yes,” said the witness.

The witness admitted to the court that there were several other people who made calls to the show; not just Kiptindinyo and Kamili.

He had earlier told the court that he could not remember what exactly these two individuals said during the show.

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The transcripts further indicate that Sang urged the Kalenjin people not to shield anyone who would be found of guilty of fanning the violence whether or not they were Kalenjin.

He also argued at the time that such people should be banned from travelling from any part of the world as a result of their actions.

Sang was utterly surprised to find himself among the ICC suspects but even then he called for peace because the truth would come out.

“I am surprised as you are my Kalenjin people but the truth cannot be buried,” Sang was quoted in the transcripts as having said.

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