Yebei corrupted ICC witnesses
What you need to know:
- Ms Bensouda’s statement was meant to clarify “Mr Yebei’s status in the context of the prosecutor’s case against Messrs Ruto and Sang”. The case is scheduled to continue next week after the chrismas break.
Meshack Yebei, the man who was found dead last Sunday, was among individuals interfering with witnesses lined up to testify against Deputy President William Ruto and Joshua Sang in The Hague, the prosecution has said.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Friday said her office had identified Mr Yebei to help her investigators in Kenya but was later dropped.
“During the course of the prosecution’s investigations, the Office of the Prosecutor contacted numerous individuals in Kenya, including Mr Yebei,” Ms Bensouda said in a statement on Friday.
“However, Mr Yebei was ultimately not included on the prosecution’s list of trial witnesses due to, amongst other reasons, information indicating that Mr Yebei was deeply implicated in the scheme to corrupt prosecution witnesses in the case against Mr Ruto and Mr Sang.”
Ms Bensouda’s statement was meant to clarify “Mr Yebei’s status in the context of the prosecutor’s case against Messrs Ruto and Sang”. The case is scheduled to continue next week after the chrismas break.
Ms Bensouda said her office had identified a network of individuals who were working together to sabotage the prosecution’s case using bribes and threats. Her office would do everything in its power to ensure that witnesses present their evidence before the court without fear, she added.
Meanwhile, Mr Yebei’s burial has been postponed to next Saturday to enable detectives to complete investigations into his death.
He was abducted on December 28 last year at Turbo, in Eldoret Town, and his mutilated body was found a week later floating in River Yala in Nandi County, 40 kilometres away.
