ICC terminates case against lawyer Paul Gicheru

Gicheru was awaiting a court verdict over his witness tampering case. He was accused of tampering with witnesses who were set to testify against President William Ruto and Journalist Joshua Arap Sang in connection with the post-election violence that rocked Kenya in 2007/8.

The case against Ruto and Sang collapsed in 2016 after witnesses withdrew and others recanted their testimony.

Before the collapse of the case, the ICC had on March 15, 2015, issued a warrant of arrest against Gicheru and Philip Kipkoech Bett.

Gicheru surrendered on November 3, 2020, and he was transferred to the court where he appeared on November 6, 2020.

He was later released by the court on January 29, 2021, under set conditions, which if he was to violate he would have seen the Sh1 million he had deposited in the court forfeited, a warrant of arrest issued against him and any other order as the court deemed relevant.

His trial commenced on February 15, 2022, with the closing arguments being submitted on June 27, 2022, when the court retired for deliberations.

The ICC says that it was informed of Gicheru's death on the same day he died and the court registry received official confirmation of the deceased's death and an administrative document authorising the burial on October 13, 2022.

"The Chamber considers this sufficient proof to establish the death of the accused. Accordingly, it terminates the proceedings in this case," the ICC said in its communication.