Hague probes three on witnesses

Three prominent people are being investigated for trying to obstruct justice by compromising witnesses set to appear before the International Criminal Court.

A source close to the ICC said the three were a top politician, a lawyer and a senior police officer linked to the 2007 post-election violence.

They are said to have enticed witnesses to recant their statements, assuring them they would not be charged with perjury “because the government is not interested in the ICC process.”

The witnesses were further allegedly coerced to implicate a human rights organisation in coaching witnesses.

The sources said the witnesses were being harassed.

Harassment of witnesses is one of the issues ICC prosecutor Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo is expected to address during his visit to the country.

The ICC has said anyone found trying to compromise witnesses will be held liable.

In a letter to Internal Security minister George Saitoti, who chairs a Cabinet committee dealing with the court, an ICC official expressed concern over reports that witnesses had “been offered bribes by persons who feel threatened by the ICC.”

Meanwhile, a group of MPs has dismissed International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s visit as “useless”.

“We don’t care whether Ocampo is in the country or not. He has been here before,” said Dujis MP Adan Duale.

The MPs accused the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) of disregarding the law by disobeying the “authority mandated to investigate crime.”

Last month, Mr Ruto claimed that KNCHR commissioner Hassan Omar Hassan had coached witnesses to give false accounts about his contribution to the post-election violence.