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Ruto, Sang ICC trial resumes May 12

Sang's lawyer Katwa Kigen however told Capital FM News that the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges were yet to furnish defence counsels with the witness list/FILE

Sang’s lawyer Katwa Kigen however told Capital FM News that the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges were yet to furnish defence counsels with the witness list/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 24 – The trial against Deputy President William Ruto and Joshua arap Sang is scheduled to resume in The Hague on May 12.

Sang’s lawyer Katwa Kigen however told Capital FM News that the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges were yet to furnish defence counsels with the witness list.

The list displays the order of appearance of prosecution witnesses.

If witness P0028 is the first to appear once the trial resumes after the court’s recess, then Ruto will be required to be physically present throughout the testimony as directed by the judges on March 7.

The prosecution has described P0028 as a Kalenjin who has key information about the planning meetings, Ruto’s role and other associates involved in orchestrating violence in the Great Rift Valley.

In the Document Containing Charges (DCC), the prosecution alleges that Ruto funded and hosted meetings and gave orders using a network that was formed as early as 2006 to attack non-Kalenjin communities living in the Rift Valley.

Once the witness takes the stand, he will require about a month to give his testimony-in-chief in the presence of Ruto.

Before the Easter break, 16 prosecution witnesses had testified before the court on the events that occurred in December 2007 and January 2008 in reference to charges against Ruto and Sang. READ: Ruto, Sang ICC trial takes early Easter break.

The trial of the two opened on September 10, 2013. They are accused of crimes against humanity of murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution committed in Kenya during the post election violence.

The trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta who is the only accused person in Kenya Case Two is scheduled to start on October 7, 2014.

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Kenyatta, Ruto and Sang have pledged to cooperate with the court.

Last Thursday, the ICC wrote to Kenya asking the government to compel eight prosecution witnesses to testify before the court against Ruto. READ: ICC wants Kenya to force witnesses to testify against Ruto.

The court has asked the government to use means available involving sanctioning the witnesses to push them to give their evidence to the court.

Attorney General Githu Muigai has previously indicated that it is not possible for the government of Kenya to do so since it can only serve summonses but not enforce them.

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