Paul Gicheru won't defend bribery case, lawyer tells ICC judges
Lawyer Paul Gicheru during the opening of his case at the ICC on February 15, 2022.
Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru will not put up a defence against the evidence presented by the prosecution on charges of bribing witnesses in the war crimes trial against Deputy President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Mr Gicheru’s lawyer, Mr Michael Karnavas, yesterday informed the ICC in a one-sentence letter that he will not be presenting a case against the evidence adduced by the Office of the Prosecutor.
“Mr Paul Gicheru, through his counsel, hereby informs Trial Chamber III and the prosecution that it does not intend to present a case,” reads the letter to the Trial Chamber Judge Miatta Maria Samba.
Mr Karnavas is expected to make arguments, either oral or written, poking holes in the prosecution’s evidence and portraying it as incredible and insufficient to secure a conviction.
During the trial that started on February 15, and ended on March 24, the prosecutors tabled evidence of seven witnesses, who testified on the alleged involvement of Mr Gicheru in offences against the administration of justice.
The prosecution claimed that he played a major role in a well-planned scheme to frustrate the trial of Dr Ruto. It is alleged that he offered in excess of Sh20 million bribes to eight witnesses to recant their evidence and withdraw as prosecution witnesses.
He faced eight criminal counts involving witness interference, bribery and intimidation. Mr Gicheru denied all the charges.
Should he be found guilty, Mr Gicheru faces up to 40 years in jail since each count attracts a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, according to Article 70(3) of the Rome Statute.
The evidence tabled by the prosecution included audio recordings of phone conversations between people alleged to be agents of Mr Gicheru and the witnesses.
Bank account statements indicating deposit of money by witnesses who were allegedly paid by the lawyer to recant their evidence against Dr Ruto were also presented in court.
Six acres and a fully constructed house
Other witnesses testified about their physical encounters with Mr Gicheru at his office and the offers they received in exchange with recanting of their evidence.
For instance, one witness told the Trial Chamber that he was offered Sh10 million, six acres and a fully constructed house to recant his testimony.
The witnesses had been lined up to testify against Dr Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Arap Sang in the crimes against humanity case which collapsed in September 2015 following withdrawal of witnesses.
The prosecution further claimed that Mr Gicheru managed and coordinated a scheme to identify, locate and corruptly influence actual and potential witnesses. This was done through a combination of bribery and intimidation.
“The actions of the accused and his associates led directly to the withdrawal and recanting of no less than four vital prosecution witnesses in the Ruto and Sang case. The efforts of the accused and his associates to influence corruptly a further two witnesses were only thwarted because the witnesses they targeted reported this to the prosecution,” said Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart.
Mr Gicheru voluntarily surrendered to the authorities of The Netherlands on November 2, 2020. An arrest warrant had been issued by the ICC on March 10, 2015.
On July 15, 2021, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber A confirmed the charges of offences against the administration of justice taken by the prosecutor against Mr Gicheru, and committed him to trial.
In its decision, the Chamber found that there were substantial grounds to believe that Mr Gicheru committed, as a co-perpetrator, or under alternative modes of liability, the alleged offences.
He allegedly committed the offences in Kenya between April 2013 and the closure of the Ruto and Sang case on September 10, 2015.
The offences were allegedly committed in the furtherance of a common plan implemented by a group of persons associated with Dr Ruto, including Mr Gicheru, with the ultimate goal of undermining the prosecution's case in the Ruto and Sang trial.
