By Felix Olick
Kenya: A media monitoring report captured journalist Joshua arap Sang asking the Kalenjin community not to join ODM protests after the bungled 2007 polls.
Sang’s lawyer, Katwa Kigen, produced transcripts from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) media monitoring report to rebut the testimony of the sixth prosecution witness.
“Vernacular radio station (Kass FM) urges listeners not to join opposition in protest,” Katwa quoted the report during his cross-examination of the sixth prosecution witness Tuesday. The witness, identified only by the alias P286, had earlier claimed that after the announcement of the 2007 presidential election results, Sang rallied Kalenjins to reject the results and join in protests.
He claimed the radio journalist gave schedules of ODM meetings and asked all men to attend without fail.
“Immediately after election, what I heard is people had started showing resentment in some places because of ‘stolen elections’ and he (Sang) asked people what they were still doing and that they must go out and demonstrate,” the witnesses said last week.
However, Kigen produced the transcript, which also showed that Kass FM was dedicated to prayer and Bible reading.
A similar report on February 7 also captured Sang saying that the Kalenjin community would not protect anybody, even ‘one of their own’, if they were involved in the bloodshed.
“We shall not defend them because they are from our community,” Mr Kigen quoted the BBC report, which was published before ICC named Sang as an accused.
Aggrieved
Mr Kigen also played a broadcast from Kass FM in which Sang asked listeners to maintain peace.
However, the witness maintained that from Sang’s voice in the broadcast, it was clear he was aggrieved by ODM’s loss in the presidential polls
“Mr Witness, from the broadcast, did Mr Sang ask for peace? Kigen asked.
Witness: “Yes, but the tone is that of an aggrieved person. It is not the tone of a happy person.”
The sixth witness, who is the first Kalenjin to testify against Sang and Deputy President William Ruto, completed his testimony Tuesday evening. A seventh prosecution witness identified only as 423 takes to the stand today.
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