On
Kenyatta &
Ruto Cases,
NGOs Blame ICC
for
Over-Disclosure
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 10 --
After Uhuru
Kenyatta made
his appearance
at
the
International
Criminal Court
in The Hague,
at the UN in
New York
on October 10
there was a press
conference on
the topic.
Inner City
Press asked if
the ICC
Prosecutor has
handled the
Kenya cases
correctly,
given that
witnesses say
they were
coached.
Stella
Ndirangu of
International
Commission of
Jurists-Kenya
said the ICC
Chambers have
some
responsibility,
for disclosing
too much
information
such that the
identity of
witnesses
could be
figured out
or
“trianguled.”
She said six
witnesses have
been killed.
"The
defense kept
pushing, and
the Chamber
kept giving,”
she said.
“They
did not see
the Kenyatta
case as
different from
previous
cases,”
she said. The
defendants are
powerful and
free, she
said,
contrasting
it to the DR
Congo, where
the government
has used the
ICC to go
after
its opponents.
Haron
Ndubi of
Kenyans for
Peace Truth
with Justice
added that
there had
been too much
time between
the
disclosures
and the
hearings in
the
case, giving
too much time
for the
identity of
witnesses to
be
discovered. He
said the State
Parties should
consider this.
Inner
City Press
also asked
about Ugandan
president
Yoweri
Museveni
calling
for African
countries to
reconsider
remaining in
the ICC. Haron
Ndubi
replied that
Museveni took
sides in Kenya
in 2007,
“before Kofi
Annan
arrived.” He
pointed out
that Uganda
had previous
used the
ICC, against
the Lord's
Resistance
Army and
Joseph Kony.
The
moderator
from the
Coalition for
the
International
Criminal Court
recounted
three previous
anti-ICC
attempts, the
first under
“the
late
Gaddafi.”And
you know how
that ended.
Watch this
site.