Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru has surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) five years after an arrest warrant was issued by The Hague-based court in 2015.
The ICC confirmed the developments in a press release on Monday, November 2.
“Paul Gicheru surrendered to the authorities of The Netherlands pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court,” the statement read.
“The Court submitted a cooperation request to Dutch authorities for the arrest and surrender of Paul Gicheru to the ICC upon completion of the necessary national arrest proceedings,” the court added.
The advocate was accused of obstruction of justice in the case against Deputy President William Ruto.
Gicheru, alongside Philip Kipkoech Bett, was accused of tampering with ICC witnesses.
The two have spent years in the Kenyan courts seeking to quash their extradition and it remains unclear what prompted Gicheru to surrender.
The lawyer represented some of the witnesses in Ruto’s cases who later recanted their statements.
The arrest warrant against the two was issued under seal on 10 March 2015 and unsealed on 10 September 2015.
A sealed warrant of arrest is kept secret from the public, to ensure wanted individuals don’t attempt to flee.
The cases against Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta were dropped for insufficient evidence and alleged witness tampering.
However, the court refused to acquit them, with the ICC Prosecutor's office promising to revive the cases if and when new evidence emerged.
After the cases were thrown out President Kenyatta declared that he would never allow any other Kenyan to be tried at the ICC.
“I will not allow any other Kenyan to be tried in a foreign court. As a country, we have closed the ICC chapter,” he declared in 2016 during a rally at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.
Gicheru serves as the chair of the Export Processing Zones Authority after President Uhuru appointed him in 2018.
