Photo/FILE
From left: Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru
Kenyatta, former head of civil service Francis Muthaura and radio
presenter Joshua arap Sang.
The trial preparations of the four Kenyans facing
charges at the International Criminal Court kicks off in earnest on June
12 when the accused and their lawyers are scheduled to gather at The
Hague for a preparatory conference.
A source familiar with the trial preparations told the Sunday Nation
from The Hague that trial judges have notified the parties to attend
the status conference during which the rules of engagement will be
defined including procedural matters and sequence of proceedings.
The status conference lays ground for the trial
proper whose date would depend on the issues raised and efficiency of
the parties.
During the meeting, the parties would have their first interaction with
judges Christine van den Wyngaert (Belgium), Kuniko Ozaki (Japan) and
Chile Obeo-Osuji of Nigeria who will preside over the trials
The court’s decision is likely to dampen the spirits of President Kibaki who is engaged in a last ditch effort — both at home and abroad — to stop the proceedings at The Hague-based court.
It comes barely two weeks after he indicated to
Parliament the government’s determination to set up a local court to try
those suspected to have sponsored the 2008/9 violence.
Days later, the President secured a resolution by
the East Africa Community for the expansion of the jurisdiction of the
East Africa Court of Justice to handle the Kenyan cases.
Similar efforts are underway at a gathering of legal experts from the African Union working on a similar resolution
The lawyers meeting in Addis Ababa are exploring ways of implementing a
January resolution of AU leaders seeking to expand the scope of the
Africa Court of Justice to enable it to take over ICC cases involving
African leaders — Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and Kenya’s Deputy
Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, former
Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and radio journalist Joshua
Sang, who were on January 23 committed to trial for crimes against
humanity committed during the violence.
During the conference, judges will set a
timetable for the start of trials and disclosure of witnesses and
evidence between the prosecutor and defence. The accused have an option
of attending the conference in person.
Mr Karim Khan, who is leading Mr Muthaura’s defence
team, on Saturday confirmed the summons and said he would attend the
conference with members of his team.
However, he was no-committal on whether his client
will be present. “It is a usual court occurrence during which issues are
agreed upon relating to evidence, procedure and sequence of the
proceedings. Attendance of the accused at status conferences is
optional,” he said in a phone interview.
The Muthaura defence includes Mr Ken Ogeto of the
Kenyan Bar, Malaysian Shyamala Alagendra and Mr Essal Faal from The
Gambia while Mr Kenyatta is represented by British lawyers Steven Kay
and Gillian Higgins.
A lawyer who spoke under the cover of anonymity
said by the decision, the ICC had “called the government’s bluff”. “The
ICC is testing the government and suspects’ commitment to co-operate
with the court,” he said.
Explaining the significance of the conference in a
recent conversation, ICC spokesman Fadil Abdallah said it is largely a
house keeping affair.
“The parties will present their observations to the
chamber on their preparedness, which will review them and establish a
timetable for trials proper,” he said.
Commenting on Saturday, Senior Counsel Paul Muite
advised Mr Ruto and Mr Uhuru to review their defence strategy and
composition of their lawyers.
“They should have faith in Kenyan lawyers because
they understand the history and context of the case,” he said citing the
success of Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and Maj (Gen) Hussein Ali’s during
the confirmation of cases hearings.
