Ruto’s Lawyer Challenges Witness on Testimony About Fundraising Event

A defense lawyer challenged Witness 743 about a fundraising event during which he alleged William Samoei Ruto called for the eviction and killing of Kikuyus from the Rift Valley months ahead of the December 2007 presidential election.

Ruto’s lawyer, Shyamala Alagendra, questioned the witness on Thursday about an October 15, 2007 fundraising event held at an unnamed school. During the event, Ruto was alleged to have also helped raise money for the school and campaigned for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.

In the lead up to the 2007 elections Ruto was a key ODM leader and was also seeking reelection to the National Assembly. Today he is Kenya’s deputy president. Ruto is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) with former journalist Joshua arap Sang. Both face three counts of crimes against humanity for their alleged roles during the bloodshed the followed the December 2007 presidential poll.

Alagendra told Witness 743 that during a series of interviews with the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) between 2010 and 2014 he gave four different accounts of what Ruto purportedly said. Alagendra then added that the witness in his testimony in court gave three different accounts of what Ruto is alleged to have said during the October 15, 2007 fundraising event.

“Your testimony that Mr. Ruto called for eviction of Kikuyus, and he called for Kikuyus to be killed; that testimony of yours before this court Mr. Witness is a complete fabrication. Do you agree with that sir?” asked Alagendra.

“Your honor, no,” replied Witness 743.

Following on that line of questioning, Alagendra asked a few hours later, “I put it to you sir that on 15th of October Mr. Ruto was not at that school. Do you accept that?”

“No, your honor,” the witness responded.

Alagendra continued to say that on October 15, 2007, Ruto was in Nairobi at the Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) with ODM leader Raila Odinga. The witness said it was possible Ruto was at KICC in the morning on that day and attended the fundraising on the same day because it took place in the evening.

The rest of Thursday’s proceedings were conducted in private session. Similarly, Wednesday’s proceedings were entirely in private session, which is why the International Justice Monitor did not report on them.

Witness 743 concluded his testimony in private session after being re-examined by senior trial lawyer Anton Steynberg. This information is as per the schedule that Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji stated in the afternoon, repeating what he had said on previous days that the chamber wanted to conclude with Witness 743 on Thursday.

It is unclear which witness will testify next. Trial Chamber V(a) held a status conference in private session at the end of Thursday’s proceedings to discuss the matter.

14 Comments

  1. All truth is known by God, and time is coming when it will be revealed. We pray for you our DP that God will answer your prayers as you forgive them for they donot know what they are doing

  2. Can anybody tell me what is going on in Hague. Two weeks in the darkness and I do not trust Bensouda. What is she cooking in secret?

  3. There’s a smoking gun here but Moreno tempered with the case at the beginning and besouda wasted time on unrelated facts that led to no where.the truth is that innocent people were killed,maimed or forcefully uprooted from their homes.why don’t the prosecution build a factual case from the reason why anybody could spark unrest in Kenya? The plain truth was that the people perceived by cord that they voted against their preferred candidate.what did the cord leadership then preach to their followers? Evidence is being deleated from YouTube.no xyz no peace.the topmost leader or leadership started this.waki had his inerest as there are so many important facts omitted.

    1. You mean to say some wa akkki was promised a wa-akko -type job to produce a doctored/skewed report post election-report

  4. This Ruto/Sang case sh’d b put off and away coz it has no basis of arugueiment at all. Set Tthem Free!

  5. If Hon. Ruto was indeed responsible for what happened 2007/2008 then he should have been prosecuted like yesterday, it is only that this case has no basis at all, Hon. Ruto is innocent Kenyan and will remain innocent forever….

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