Witness: Deputy President William Ruto funded training of warriors

A witness yesterday claimed Deputy President William Ruto financed training for Kalenjin warriors in preparation for the 2007-2008 post-election violence in the Rift Valley.

The witness told the International Criminal Court (ICC) more than 300 youths were given special military training at a farm in Boronjo on the Eldoret-Kitale road a month before the elections. They were later used as trainers of more youths involved in the bloody attacks to evict members of the Kikuyu community from the Rift Valley.

The witness, who began testifying on Monday, claimed some of the youths informed him that the funds used for the training were donated by Mr Ruto. They were each given between Sh250 and Sh500 while their leaders were given Sh1,000.

Testifying before Trial Chamber V(a), the witness claimed the youths were taken from different parts of Eldoret and trained for three weeks.

"I saw them being transported there and spoke to some of them," he said.

He said they were trained by retired military officers. The training focused on how to attack without leaving a trace, how to hit targets with their arrows, what to wear, how to conceal their identities, how to set houses ablaze and accelerate the fire.

The trainees used empty tins for their shooting targets. They were instructed to wear shorts and paint their faces and bodies with mud to conceal their identities, and to use marks to identify each other. They were also trained to use mattresses to set houses on fire and to use sugar to intensify the burning.

The witness said a farm belonging to an elderly man nicknamed Mzuri was the venue for the three-week training.

He also claimed three days before the elections, Ruto's chief campaigner and personal assistant, Farouk Kibet, addressed a meeting in  Eldoret town where he announced that Kikuyus had to vote with the Kalenjins for ODM or leave Rift Valley.

"When he said these words, the Kalenjin understood he was delivering a message from Ruto," the witness said.

He also testified about secret meetings held in elders' houses to strategise how Kalenjins would get poisonous arrows from the Keiyo sub-tribe to attack the Kikuyus and evict them from North Rift if President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner.

"In case the Kikuyus overcame the Kalenjins, reinforcements would be brought in from the neighbouring area. Elders who were rich businessmen from Eldoret were ready to provide their lorries to transport the youths," the witness recounted.

He said funds for the arrows were to be raised by the businessmen and if necessary, Ruto would be contacted to boost the kitty.

The hearing continues.