Ruto did not defend himself before Waki team, ICC told

PHOTO | FILE Deputy President William Ruto and his lawyer Karim Khan at the ICC in the Hague. Mr Khan accused the Waki commission of denying Deputy President William Ruto a chance to respond to accusations made against him by witnesses.  

In Summary

• Mr Karim Khan said the Deputy President was not given an opportunity even after presenting himself before the commissioners towards the end of their sittings in October 2008.
• The defence said the committee went against its rules of procedure and natural justice in denying Mr Ruto the chance although he had been adversely mentioned.
• The defence also claimed Dr Mueller was recruited by CIPEV Secretary George Kegoro after she contacted him and not by the commissioners.

By Nation Reporter
More by this Author

The Waki Commission investigating the 2007 Post-Election Violence was Friday accused of denying Deputy President William Ruto a chance to respond to accusations made against him by witnesses.

Mr Ruto’s lawyer at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Mr Karim Khan said the Deputy President was not given an opportunity even after presenting himself before the commissioners towards the end of their sittings in October 2008.

 

A former member of the Commission into the Post-Election Violence popularly known as Waki Commission, Mr Gavin Alistair McFadyen, was put to task on why the commissioners had failed to allow Mr Ruto to testify or respond to the allegations against him in a report prepared by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Mr MacFadyen also revealed that the name of Mr Ruto was in the secret Waki envelope that was used to indict him to the ICC.
Adversely mentioned

The defence said the committee went against its rules of procedure and natural justice in denying Mr Ruto the chance although he had been adversely mentioned.

“Why on earth would you deny Mr Ruto a chance yet you knew very well he had been mentioned and was among the people in the secret envelope?” Mr Khan posed.

Dr Suzanne Mueller, a consultant, employed by the commission two months after starting its investigations was said to have “re-drafted” five key parts of the report.

Mr McFadyen, however, said Dr Mueller did her job as asked by the commission although she came after collection of information in most of the violence hotspots.

Mr McFadyen was also asked to tell the court why the secret envelope containing key PEV perpetrators had not been presented to former President Mwai Kibaki despite being the commission’s appointing authority.

The former commissioner, who was brought by the prosecution to testify, said the rules guiding the commission did not provide for such.

The defence team also accused a member of the commission of re-drafting CIPEV report weeks after it had been compiled by commissioners.

The team told the trial hearing that a prominent consultant contracted by CIPEV re-wrote important sections of the report prepared by the team before it was published.

Dr Suzanne Mueller, a consultant, employed by the commission two months after starting its investigations into the deadly violence that rocked the country after the disputed presidential election, was said to have “re-drafted” five key parts of the CIPEV report.

Mr Khan told the court that Dr Mueller re-drafted the Introduction, Gender, Sexual, North Rift and Mass Media sections when she joined the team in August 2008. The commission began its sittings two months earlier in June.

Mr Khan revealed this during the cross-examination of a former commissioner of CIPEV, who was testifying before the court yesterday.
Khan: do you know of Suzanne Mueller?

McFadyen: yes I do.

Khan: when did she join the commission?

McFadyen: after the commission was set up

Khan: do you know she re-drafted several chapters of the report after joining the commission, the Introduction, the chapter on Rift Valley, Sexual Violence and Mass Media?

McFadyen: I do not have any recollection of that but she assisted us just like others who worked for us.

The defence also claimed Dr Mueller was recruited by CIPEV Secretary George Kegoro after she contacted him and not by the commissioners.

Mr McFadyen, who was one of the two foreigners in the commission, however, rebuffed this saying all the employees were recruited upon the agreement of all the commissioners and not be individuals.

The hearing was also told that the commission chaired by Court of Appeal judge Philip Waki employed an investigator who campaigned for former President Kibaki prior to the 2007 elections. Mr Khan said a Mr George Morara, an alleged member of the ‘Vijana Na Kibaki’ campaign group was recruited by the commission to help in investigations.

The witness said he did not know of a campaign group by the name and would not have known its members.

Mr Ruto’s team also said various lobby groups influenced the commission’s investigations as they pushed them to visit specific areas.

The commission was formed in May 2008 to do a thorough investigation into the violence that led to the death of 1,133 people and displacement of thousands of others.

The committee comprised Mr Waki, Mr McFadyen and Mr Pascal K. Kambale from Congo.