International Criminal Court hopes Kenya co-operates, arrests Journalist Walter Barasa

Walter Barasa. ICC has ordered for his arrest for ‘trying’ to bribe prosecution witnesses. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By FELIX OLICK

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled out the possibility of its arrest warrant against Journalist Walter Barasa being challenged in the Kenyan Judiciary.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdalla, however, said that the Judiciary could be used to enforce the arrest warrant and handover of the 41-year-old journalist to The Hague.

Speaking to journalists at the ICC premises yesterday, Fadi said that they respect the sovereignty of Kenya as a State and would not dictate to them how to arrest Barasa.

“It’s not a matter of second control or monitoring over what the ICC has already decided,” he said. “It’s a matter of how legally the process should be put in place for the surrender of this person to the ICC.”

Shortly after the arrest warrant was issued, Attorney-General Githu Muigai pointed to a long-drawn procedure to enforce the arrest warrant quoting the International Crimes Act 2010.

The AG said that Kenyan courts had the final word and that Barasa would be allowed to make representation in court.

“These procedures require the minister in charge of Interior affairs, upon receipt of the formal warrant of arrest, to present the said warrant to the Judiciary for enforcement,” Prof Muigai said.

“During the judicial consideration of the legality of the warrant, the subject is entitled to make representations to the court. The final determination on the enforceability of the warrant is, therefore, a judicial one,” he said.

But Fadi admitted that enforcing an arrest warrant issued by ICC can sometime take time depending on domestic laws.

“Naturally like with any other country, there is a certain process that needs to be organised within the country and by the authorities of those countries,” he said.

Fadi gave the example of France as one the countries that took a few months to arrest and surrender a suspect they wanted presented at The Hague.

In her statement Wednesday ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda insisted that Barasa should be arrested immediately and transferred to The Hague.

Fadi, however, maintained that Kenyan authorities have an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to co-operate with the ICC.

According to the arrest warrant issued Wednesday, Barasa tried to corruptly influence witnesses P-0336, P-0256 and P-0536, who is currently testifying before the ICC, by inducing them with large sums of money.

“Walter Osapiri Barasa is criminally responsible under Article 25(3)(a), as direct perpetrator for the crime of corruptly influencing a witness, (P-0336), by offering to pay him between one and-a-half million and one million shillings and in order to influence him to withdraw as a prosecution witness,” the arrest warrant reads in part.

The bribery attempt is said to have taken place between May 20 and July 21 at or near Kampala, Uganda, during which, Bensouda said, witness tampering “escalated both in frequency and seriousness”.

The arrest warrant states that witness 536 confirmed to prosecution investigators that she had been contacted by Barasa and that she and her husband were offered Sh1.4 million to withdraw from the ICC process.

Bensouda said a third country she declined to name had been asked to arrest Barasa but had failed to do so.