Ruto is a victim of dark forces in previous administration and ICC

NAIROBI: I strongly believe Deputy President William Ruto is an innocent man. In my view, he is not guilty of the charges leveled against him at the International Criminal Court (ICC). I have no qualms at all stating that he was a victim of a morbid conspiracy by a cabal of power-hungry characters around former President Mwai Kibaki who abused their offices to fix him. He was framed; the witnesses were procured by government shenanigans, and he was sacrificed on behalf of the ODM fraternity by the powers that be at the time.

In 2007, I spent a great deal of time traversing the length and breadth of this country campaigning for ODM , alongside Ruto. It was a campaign like no other, and we shuttled from Moyale to Lamu, from Wanga to Mandera, determined to wrestle power from the Kibaki old guards. The indefatigable Ruto, with immense organisational skills and great oratorical prowess, threw in everything he had to dislodge the incumbent.

As an ODM NEC member at the time, I was on the campaign trail with Ruto quite often, many a times using a chopper. And it paid off. We beat the Kibaki team hands down but lost the trophy. And that was the beginning of the trouble for Ruto.

He joined the continuous vigil at KICC and fought tooth and nail to safeguard our votes as the unethical PNU brigade worked behind the scenes to scheme the grand robbery. He was the most visible, and formidable, force of our team; and PNU used the incumbency to nail him subsequently to get him permanently out of the way. In all the time we were on the campaign trail, there wasn’t the slightest indication that Ruto was up to anything sinister. No body language, and no telltale signs that he was brewing something evil in the Rift Valley.

Neither did anything happen in the region even after the voting was concluded. Hence, my ardent belief that the post-election violence was a spontaneous reaction by folks in Rift Valley and other regions when it became apparent that Kibaki’s team were stealing our victory.

All this is of course not new. It matters little too. Ruto is now charged with crimes against humanity at The Hague. Some of those who cooked his goose still serve the current President. Some have publicly owned up to their evil machinations. But the Deputy President is unmoved by all these revelations, nor has he been vindictive towards those who serve his boss at State House. Instead, he has focused his attention on the court.

Last week, dozens of legislators flew to The Hague to challenge the court’s use of recanted evidence against Ruto at the Assembly of State Parties. I am not a lawyer but my conscience tells me using such evidence is against the rules of natural justice. Nor is it proper to change the ICC rules while the case was in progress. They also plan to question, and rightfully so, the process used in procuring witnesses for the court by the Prosecutor. The rules provide for an oversight mechanism in the prosecutorial process.

ICC is a political institution of the West primarily intended to deal with errant leaders in third world countries. We supported it in good faith. Its procedures and decisions can be challenged, legally and politically. It ought to be, given the conspiracies, shoddy investigations and political intrigues involved in Ruto’s case. If they don’t play ball, I think our country should quit the court. After all, its reputation appears to have suffered irredeemably already.