ICC Prosecutor blames collapse of Kenyan cases on “relentless intimidation” of witnesses
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has blamed the collapse of Kenyan deputy president William Ruto’s case on a “relentless campaign of witness intimidation.”
War crimes judges at the Hague-based court on Tuesday ordered that all the crimes against humanity charges be “vacated” against Ruto and his co-accused, radio journalist Joshua Sang.
The ruling on Tuesday meant that no one has been prosecuted by the court for the bloodshed which claimed hundreds of lives in Kenya after the disputed 2007 elections.
“There was a relentless campaign to identify individuals who could serve as prosecution witnesses in this case and ensure they would not testify,” Bensouda said in her first full statement on the issue.
“As a result, potential witnesses told us they were too afraid to commit testifying against the accused.”
Ruto, 49, and Sang, 40, had both denied three accounts of crimes against humanity – namely murder, forcible deportation and persecution committed during the violence in late 2007 and early 2008.
Prosecutors say the violence that ensued after the polls killed at least 1,300 people.
The East African country is still grappling with settling the internally displaced persons, most of whom are too afraid to return to their original homes for fear that they may still be targeted.
