IJCentral: International Justice Central

Eldoret North MP William Ruto’s application asking International Criminal Court (ICC) judges for fresh investigation into post-election violence was received at the registry in The Hague.

Mr Ruto’s lawyer Katwa Kigen produced copies of the application signed by ICC courtroom official Felipe Rojas Ceballos on December 8, who confirmed he had received the electronic version at 14.30 hours.

He produced the documents after The Standard asked about claims by ICC legal outreach official, Dr Fadi El Abdallah, that they had not received the application.

El Abdallah had said the ICC was not aware of any public filing about of the application by Ruto to the court.

But in response, Kigen said he personally delivered the application to the court, which acknowledged receiving the papers.

“I met Felipe and Esther Obat at the ICC registry and gave them the documents for delivery to the judges for directions as to the filling,” said Kigen.

The lawyer also produced a follow up letter he wrote to the Registrar on December 10 telling the court that he had filed the application two days earlier.

“We refer to the application presented to the Registry on December 8 by the undersigned, and duly acknowledged and enclosed is a scanned copy of the acknowledgement,” said Kigen in the letter.

According to the letter, the lawyers enclosed the complete application together with scanned enclosures and demanded to know the directions the pre-trial chamber had made in respect to the application and its urgency.

Kigen, requested information about the leave sought by the applicant that he intends to provide the court with an alternative view as provided under rule 103 of the ICC rules.

“The applicant proposes to provide the court with alternative views of great value, considering the prosecutor’s conduct on the situation in Kenya has in effect failed to investigate exonerating evidence in relation to the applicant and also failed to afford him an opportunity to present the exonerating evidence he has,” said the letter.

Ruto argued that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has acted and continues to act unprofessionally, unprocedurally and unlawfully in disregarding his mandate towards the applicant in respect to the post-election violence.

Kigen further tells the court that repeated statements by Moreno-Ocampo that he had concluded investigations on post elections violence in Kenya were manifestly ineffective, limited in scope, poorly directed and a display of lack of commitment to gather relevant information and evidence.

In his presentation, the lawyer summarises what he says are breaches in the Kenya National Human Rights Commission and the Waki reports and requests that the applicant be allowed to make written and oral submissions on them.

“The prosecutor has denied the applicant the opportunity to offer exonerating evidence by not giving him prior notice before questioning as required by article 55(2)(a), and also failed to inform him that he is a suspect and affording him reasonable time to respond with adequate particulars,” said Kigen.

He said Moreno-Ocampo had did not inform Ruto that he was being treated as a suspect prior to being questioned and unfairly, unlawfully and unprocedurally ambushing him with the information during an interview on November 4.

“In the meeting, the prosecutor kept shifting and altering his requirements from the applicant, either out of lack of clarity on his part or by design to confuse and mislead applicants so gravely to make them not respond to his ultimate application for indictments,” says Ruto.

source: The Standard