Court adjourns in Ruto, Sang ICC case

By Standard Digital Reporter

NAIROBI, KENYA: Hearings in Ruto, Sang case on Wednesday adjourned following delay in arrival of witnesses.

ICC Prosecution team said the witnesses are expected to arrive late Wednesday and Thursday prompting presiding judge Eboe Osuji to settle on Tuesday 17 for the hearing of the cases.

The trial in the Ruto and Sang case is expected to take several months. During the first part, the Office of the Prosecutor will be presenting the evidence at the Prosecution’s disposal, submitting to the attention of the judges a large number of documents which it has compiled in the case, as well as video footage.

The Prosecution will also call witnesses to testify. When the Prosecution has finished examining each witness, the Defence Counsel is given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness.

Once the Prosecution has presented all its evidence, which will take a few months, it is the turn of the accused, with the assistance of their Counsel, to present their defence.

The Defence will call a number of witnesses to support their case. These will be examined by the Defence and cross-examined by the Prosecution.

On 10 September 2013, the trial in the case (The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang) opened in the presence of the accused before Trial Chamber V(a) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Mr Ruto and Mr Sang are accused of crimes against humanity (murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution) allegedly committed in Kenya in the context of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

The trial is held before Trial Chamber V(a) composed of Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji (presiding), Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia and Judge Robert Fremr.

The trial's opening started with the reading of the charges against William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang.

Upon receiving confirmation from each leading Defence Counsel, Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji was satisfied that the accused understood the nature of the charges. Both accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Court’s Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and trial lawyer Anton Steynberg took the floor for opening statements, followed by the Legal Representatives of Victims Wilfred Nderitu, and by Mr Ruto’s Defence Counsel Karim Khan.