Mr Odinga says he is ready to witness in the Ruto case if requested. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Cord leader Raila Odinga is willing to testify at the
International Criminal Court in the case against Deputy President
William Ruto.
Mr Odinga on Sunday said he was aware of
what happened during the violence that followed the announcement of the
disputed 2007 presidential election results and was willing to testify
on behalf of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), in which Mr Ruto was a
key leader.
Mr Odinga was the party’s presidential
candidate during the election that Mr Justice Johann Kriegler said was
so muddled by irregularities it was impossible to tell who had won. Mr
Ruto was one of the key leaders of the party at the time.
Reacting to Mr Odinga’s offer, Mr Ruto said through his spokesman that he had a competent legal team and was innocent.
“The
Deputy President welcomes Raila Odinga’s offer to testify. However, his
conscience remains clear. He’s innocent and in a short while, he will
be vindicated,” he said through his spokesman, Mr David Mugonyi. “He
thanks all well wishers for prayers.”
There are several
ways in which one can testify at the ICC. One can be approached either
by the prosecutor or the defence team. One can also record a statement
with either the defence or prosecution. Once a person’s statement is
recorded and certified, then one officially becomes a witness.
NO FORMAL REQUEST
On
Sunnday, Mr Odinga said that Mr Ruto, now the Deputy President and URP
leader, had not made any formal request for him to testify.
“I
am willing to testify at the ICC on behalf of my party, ODM. But as far
as I know, no one has made such a request to me,” he told journalists
after a meeting with the Luo Council of Elders in Kisumu hotel.
His
statement came a week after Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen
led a group of United Republican Party (URP) legislators in challenging
him to testify at The Hague to increase the chances of Mr Ruto being
acquitted of the five counts he is facing related to charges of crimes
against humanity over the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
When
he started the Kenya cases, the then ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
charged three people from ODM and three from PNU with murder, forceful
transfer of populations, persecution and other crimes against humanity
including rape and torture.
Those charged from ODM were the then party chairman Henry Kosgei, Mr Ruto and radio journalist Joshua arap Sang.
CASES DROPPED
Those
from the PNU side were Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, Ambassador Francis Muthaura,
who was the head of the public service at the time and Maj-Gen Hussein
Ali, who was the police commissioner at the time.
Four of the six cases have since been dropped. Only the cases against Mr Ruto and Mr Sang are still in court.
According
to the Waki report, 1,133 people were killed during the post-election
violence while another 650,000 were displaced. The violence ended when
the then President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga signed the
National Accord on February 28, 2008.
“Former President
Mwai Kibaki and I tried as much as we could to deal with the issue and
tried to push the Members of Parliament to pass laws that would enable
the country set up a local tribunal but it backfired,” Mr Odinga said on
Sunday.
The debate on whether he should testify
started on January 24 at a funeral in Elgeyo Marakwet when Mr Murkomen
said: “I am asking the former Prime Minister that please, Mzee, join us
in this quest to ensure William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang
are freed.
No comments :
Post a Comment