ICC judges allow Deputy President William Ruto to skip trial over Mandera quarry attack

Deputy President William Ruto. PHOTO | DPPS  

In Summary

• The witness said former Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi and Mr Jackson Kibor raised money for transporting youths to conduct attacks.
• Mr Ruto attended proceedings in the case last Friday and returned to Kenya over the weekend.

By JOHN NJAGI
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International Criminal Court judges have allowed Deputy President William Ruto to skip the hearing of his case at The Hague, Netherlands, so he could attend to security matters in Kenya.

Mr Ruto was supposed to attend the hearing of the crimes against humanity case allegedly committed during the 2007/2008 post-election violence on Wednesday. He is charged alongside Mr Joshua arap Sang.

Lawyer Karim Khan told ICC judges to excuse Mr Ruto from the hearing so he could attend to security matters in Kenya following an attack in Mandera County.

The application followed the attack by Al-Shabaab militants that left 36 people dead.

Mr Ruto attended proceedings in the case last Friday and returned to Kenya on Saturday.

On Tuesday, witness P-0658 continued giving evidence.

The witness had on Monday said a former MP and a prominent businessman funded youths in the Rift Valley to carry out attacks.

The witness said former Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi and Mr Jackson Kibor raised money for transporting youths to conduct attacks.