Sang' 'used radio programme to endear Ruto, ODM to Kalenjin’

From Left, former broadcaster Joshua Sang, his lawyers Katwa Kigen and Kiptum Koech leaving ICC after the close of October 28, 2013 trial proceedings. Photo/BILLY MUTAI  

In Summary

• The programme, he said, was also used to mobilise ODM supporters to come out and participate in demonstrations after Mr Kibaki was declared the winner of the disputed presidential elections in 2007.
• The witness also recounted that once he heard from a third party that Mr Sang had asked his fans over the radio to look out for a caller who made a contrary opinion from that he held and punish the person.

By Walter Menya
More by this Author

The sixth prosecution witness Wednesday linked former journalist Joshua arap Sang and Deputy President William Ruto to the 2007/08 post-election violence.

According to witness 268, Mr Sang used the Le Nee Emet (What the world is saying) programme on Kass FM to mould and endear Mr Ruto to the Kalenjin community.

“It is his programme that created Mr Ruto since Mr Sang would always ask: ‘Has Ruto mellowed?’ and the listeners would agree,” the witness said.

The witness also said Mr Sang’s radio programme was “partisan” and was used to mobilise the Kalenjin community around the issues that were dear to them — land and power.

The programme, he said, was also used to mobilise ODM supporters to come out and participate in demonstrations after Mr Kibaki was declared the winner of the disputed presidential elections in 2007. Mr Sang also gave a schedule of rallies through his radio programme.

But the witness’s testimony was contested by the defence teams of Mr Ruto and Mr Sang who argued that the prosecution was coercing him to state what he had not said in his statement.

Defence lawyers Katwa Kigen and David Hooper for Mr Sang and Mr Ruto respectively, also contested the prosecution’s attempt to “refresh the witness’s memory” by affording him a chance to read through his statement while testifying. The defence teams said doing that would prejudice their clients.

The chamber, however, ruled in the prosecution’s favour that the witness could be shown parts of his statement that he gave to the prosecution in 2012 if that would assist him recall certain details that trial lawyer Lucio Garcia was asking.

The defence also raised objections to what they said was hearsay testimony of the witness, which they asked the court to afford a lower probity since it reached the witness through third parties.

During the afternoon session, presiding judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said the court had had enough of hearsay testimony and directed that the witness restricts his testimony to what he observed.

The Ruto and Sang defence teams have in the past questioned payments made to the witness for sustenance and even demanded that the Victims and Witnesses Unit provides details of such expenses, including details of fraud that may have been committed by the witness.

In his testimony yesterday, witness 268 said Le Nee Emet programme on Kass FM did not only propagate and campaign for ODM in 2007, but also informed listeners that Mr Ruto was the ‘king’ of Rift Valley.

The witness said that there were consequences to those who held contrary views from those propagated by Mr Sang in his programme.

The Le Nee Emet programme, the witness stated, was aired during weekdays and was popular with the Kalenjin community.

“The moment I would listen to the programme, it said the same thing. And people would call in. The same people would call in all the time and used pseudonyms. It was majorly to do with land, power, and issues to do with building a Kalenjin identity,” the witness told the court.

The witness also recounted that once he heard from a third party that Mr Sang had asked his fans over the radio to look out for a caller who made a contrary opinion from that he held and punish the person.

In another related incident, the witness also said there was a person who had an altercation with Mr Sang over the manner he was running the radio programme on a political subject.

The defence protested that the two incidents should be treated as hearsay.

Most of the morning examination-in-chief was held in private session and the defence of Mr Sang and Mr Ruto signalled their frustration to the chamber at the manner the prosecution was conducting the examination-in-chief in private
.

Mr Sang is facing charges of having contributed, through his radio programme, the commission of crimes against humanity during the 2007/08 post-poll chaos including murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution.