Skip trials at own peril Fatou Bensouda warns Deputy President William Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto and his lawyer Karim Khan[PHOTO: PIUS CHERUIYOT/STANDARD]

By FELIX OLICK at The Hague

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has fired a warning salvo to Deputy President William Ruto that he risks arrest if he skips trial proceedings without permission of the judges.

The warning comes just days after the office of the prosecutor suggested somebody else should be sworn in on a temporary basis to discharge Ruto’s duties as deputy head of state.

“The Prosecution notes Ruto is not here (ICC) voluntarily, but on compulsion of summons and risks arrest if he defaults,” Bensouda warned as she opposed Ruto’s plea to the Appeals Chamber to lift an order compelling him to be in court.

The Chief Prosecutor maintained Ruto is an accused person before the ICC and while presumed innocent, “cannot expect that life would continue normally”.

“The effect of the confirmation of charges is that a trial will ensue in the normal course and the accused, if not in custody, will have to make the necessary arrangements to attend that trial,” she charged.

On Monday evening, Ruto’s defence counsel Karim Khan lodged a fresh request to the Appeals Chamber to excuse his client from being physically present in court during his trial. Ruto pointed to the one-week adjournment following the bloody Westgate Shopping Mall (Nairobi) terror attack, arguing such breaks would result in delays in proceedings or interruptions of witness testimony.

But in her response on Thursday, Bensouda insisted Khan’s new argument including the tragic events at Westgate that led to the adjournment Monday do not change the reasoning of the Appeals Chamber’s decision.

Continuous presence

“The new facts raised have no bearing on the Appeals Chamber’s reasons for granting suspensive effect. If the trial continues without Ruto and the appeal succeeds, the results will be difficult to correct and the consequences may be irreversible. Therefore, the request should be rejected,” the Chief Prosecutor said.

For the first time this week, President Uhuru Kenyatta also requested Trial Chamber V(b) to excuse him from continuous presence at trial, citing his new roles as president.

Bensouda is yet to react to the application by the President.

The ruling by the five-judge Bench and headed by the ICC president Judge Sang-Hyun Song is expected soon.