I was offered cash to recant, man reveals

A witness in the ICC case against Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday said that unknown people tried to lure him to recant his evidence in exchange of financial reward.

Apart from promises of money, he was also assured that nothing would happen to him once he left a protected witness location in The Hague, to return to Nairobi, from where he has been giving evidence.

Witness P-800 said he decided to leave The Hague for Kenya because of a misunderstanding with ICC officers and also because the allowance he was being paid was too little to meet the needs of his family back home.

“I told the ICC court officers the allowance I was being given was too little and was often delayed but they took too long to resolve the issue, leading to a misunderstanding,” he said.

Differences between him and the ICC officials he interacted with worsened after they told him he had no right to ask for more pay as he was yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with the court.

Under cross-examination by Prosecution lawyer Anton Steynberg, the witness said he was contacted by someone sent by an unknown person in Kenya — only identified in court through synonyms — and offered cash to recant his evidence and return home.

Asked by Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, whether his differences with the ICC officials over allowances started after he had been contacted by the undisclosed people, he said the confrontation began after he had been promised huge financial reward on his return to Kenya.

Mr Ruto’s lawyer Ms Shyamala Alagendra who began cross-examining the witness on Thursday, tore into his testimony, saying he had been coached.

However, the witness said he was not coerced to give evidence against the Deputy President and only approached the ICC investigators because he had information he wanted to share with them.