Kenya police probe death of lawyer on trial for ICC witness tampering

Kenya police probe death of lawyer on trial for ICC witness tampering

Kenyan police were investigating the death of a lawyer who was on trial for allegedly bribing and intimidating witnesses in the failed International Criminal Court case against President William Ruto, an officer said Tuesday.

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!

Paul Gicheru had been accused by ICC prosecutors of running an "egregious and damaging" witness tampering scheme that made it impossible to pursue allegations against Ruto over post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008.

His trial opened in February this year, with prosecutors alleging that Gicheru paid bribes of up to one million Kenyan shillings ($8,300) and threatened the safety of ICC witnesses, one of them at gunpoint.

Gicheru had denied the allegations throughout, pleading not guilty at The Hague-based court, which is the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal.

"The information we have from the family is that he had a meal and went to sleep and never woke. He was found dead in the house late Monday evening," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Read also

Thousands march to demand justice for Mexico's missing students

"An investigation is under way because we do not know the cause of death yet," he said, adding that Gicheru's son had been taken to hospital after complaining of stomach pains following their meal together.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission urged the authorities to "conduct swift and conclusive investigations" into the death.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

"While the full details surrounding this death are still emerging, we remain concerned with the shocking news of the untimely death of Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru," the KHRC said on Twitter.

Witness tampering

The disputed 2007 vote in Kenya was followed by the worst post-electoral violence in the country's history and left 1,100 people dead.

Gicheru had "managed and coordinated a scheme to identify, locate and corruptly influence" witnesses throughout the ICC trial of Ruto and co-defendant Joshua Sang, which collapsed in 2016, ICC deputy prosecutor James Stewart had said.

Read also

Guinea massacre victims await justice 13 years after stadium horror

Four "vital" prosecution witnesses had recanted their testimony as a result of Gicheru's actions. Another two witnesses reported him to the ICC, Stewart said.

Prosecutors noted that of the individuals "caught up in the witness tampering scheme", one witness had died and another had disappeared -- although there were no allegations that Gicheru had been directly linked to their fate.

The ICC had also launched a case against former president Uhuru Kenyatta over the post-electoral violence. That too collapsed in 2014.

Ruto, who served as Kenyatta's deputy for nine years, was elected president in a bitterly-fought but largely peaceful vote held last month.

str-amu/jmm

© Agence France-Presse

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.