Paul Gicheru’s family, friends had no clue he was going to The Hague

Fugitive lawyer Paul Gicheru, who surrendered to the International Criminal Court on Monday, kept secret his planned journey to The Hague.

Friends, family and even his lawyer Kibe Mungai, whom the Nation spoke to on Wednesday, all said he did not reveal to them his intended travel to the Netherlands.

Monday’s news of the surrender of the advocate, who is accused of corruptly influencing witnesses who were to give evidence against Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua Sang at the ICC, came as a surprise to many.

Interviewed family members and colleagues in the legal fraternity told the Nation that they were caught unawares by his surrender five years after The Hague issued a warrant of arrest against him for corruptly influencing witnesses of the court in relation to the 2007/2008 post-election violence that claimed more than 1,333 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Mr Gicheru has been accused jointly with Mr Philip Kipkoech Bett.

The next course of action is likely to be his “initial court appearance”, while the full trial is likely to deal with issues of witness intimidation as well as disappearance of those who were lined up to appear at the ICC in the DP Ruto case.

A brother who works at his law firm at Veecam House, along Oloo Street in Eldoret town, said he learnt about the surrender from the media.

He was waiting for a call from him to establish what could have prompted him to surrender to the Netherlands-based court.

“I did not know that he was going to surrender, I got the news from the media, I’m waiting for his call or message on what could have transpired,” said the brother, who only identified himself as Steve.

Mr Gicheru’s lawyer’, Kibe Mungai, also said he did not know that his client was going to surrender to the ICC.

He said he had not received any instructions to represent him in the case.

Calls to Mr Gicheru’s wife, Ruth Gicheru, were not going through and neither did she respond to our text messages by the time of going to press.

Advocate Omollo Aseso, who once worked at Gicheru and Company Advocates, said Mr Gicheru did not confide in him before leaving the country, hence it was difficult for him to know what motivated the lawyer to surrender.

“Yes, I worked at his firm some years back but we did not converse before he left for The Hague,” said Mr Aseso in an interview.

Mr Gicheru is a prominent lawyer-cum-dairy farmer who could pass as any other ordinary person but his fluency in legal matters and winning court cases makes him a household name in the streets of Eldoret town and in the corridors of justice.

Mr Gicheru studied law and, upon being admitted to the Bar, joined Kalya and Company Advocates in Eldoret before he opened his own law firm -- Gicheru and Company Advocates -- at Veecam Building along Oloo Street, near Eldoret wholesale market.

He represented Mary Toroitich Rono who, in 2005, won a Court of Appeal case in Eldoret against discrimination of daughters in sharing family property.