Key Witness in Lawyer Paul Gicheru's ICC Case Goes Missing

Lawyer Paul Gicheru when he appeared before the ICC via video-link from the ICC Detention Centre on November 6, 2020
Paul Gicheru when he appeared before the ICC via video-link from the ICC Detention Centre on November 6, 2020
The Standard

The International Criminal Court (ICC) now says that a key witness in the case of Kenyan lawyer, Paul Gicheru, has gone missing.

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), through the Deputy Prosecutor, announced on Thursday, October 28, that the witness code-named P-0397 was nowhere to be found 

He had testified in court stating that Gicheru lured him and other witnesses to pull out from testifying in the case against Deputy President William Ruto.

undated image of Paul Gicheru
undated image of Paul Gicheru
The Standard
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As stated in previous reports filed at the court, Gicheru had allegedly offered Ksh5 million to the witness, which was to be paid in installments in exchange for his silence.

However, he only transferred Ksh2 million into his account.

The ICC opened a case against the lawyer but the matter was dismissed for insufficient evidence thus letting off the duo.

''The Chamber found that there are substantial grounds to believe that the accused committed, as a co-perpetrator, or under alternative modes of liability.''

''Offenses against the administration of justice (Article 70(1)(c) of the Rome Statute) between April 2013 and the closure of the William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang case on September 10, 2015, in Kenya,'' a statement from the court read in part.

According to the  ICC Deputy Prosecutor, James Stewart, the witness last communicated in January 2014 and efforts to trace him or communicate with him were unsuccessful.

He further urged the court to use a recorded statement by the witness in the case against the Kenyan lawyer.

The Deputy Prosecutor further revealed to the court that the accounts of the witness were important to the case since they added weight to the bribery charges pressed against the lawyer.

''The prior recorded testimony should be accepted as formally submitted because the witness is unavailable and the documents are reliable,” the Prosecutor said.

 

Undated image of Paul Gicheru addressing media
Undated image of Paul Gicheru addressing media
The Standard
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