{UAH} Let Mungiki testify in public, says Kenyatta

Let Mungiki testify in public, says Kenyatta

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY OLIVER MATHENGE

SUBMISSION: President Uhuru Kenyatta attends the Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of States and Governments, Addis Ababa. The Heads of States have met in Addis Ababa.

PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta wants all witnesses to testify in public at the International Criminal Court. Uhuru told the trial chamber on Monday that witnesses should not be granted immunity from self-incrimination.

"In respect of Mr Kenyatta's alleged individual criminal responsibility, the prosecution relies entirely on 15 self-­confessed criminals, namely members or former members of the Mungiki. According to the estimates provided by the prosecution, the examination-­in-­chief of the prosecution's Mungiki witnesses will require 159 hours, which amounts to 64.89% of the total estimated length of the examination-­in-­chief of all prosecution witnesses," the lawyers said.

Uhuru's lawyers want their testimony in public as it will relate to their involvement in post-election violence and will be self-­incriminatory.

"The provision of any protection or effective immunity from prosecution in these circumstances constitutes an incentive for witnesses to lie and put forward false claims," Uhuru's lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins said. They argued that this would contravene Uhuru's fundamental right to a public trial and a fair hearing.

Uhuru said that information from these witnesses would assist the Kenyan authorities in pursuing those responsible for the violence.

"Earlier criticism in the admissibility proceedings of the Government of Kenya for the failure to prosecute PEV crimes will be viewed as hypocrisy if the ICC engages in shielding perpetrators of the PEV from national prosecutions by withholding material evidence," Uhuru argued.

"The suppression of the identities and self-­incriminatory testimony of these witnesses would also prevent members of the public who may be following the court proceedings from coming forward with information and reporting to the Defence or the Kenyan authorities the extent of their knowledge about the truthfulness of the claims," Uhuru's lawyers argued.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has requested protective measures and protections against self-incrimination for her first ten witnesses.

Bensouda wants voice and face distortion, witness pseudonyms and limited in-camera sessions for identifying evidence for eight witnesses.

Uhuru's lawyers argued that these requests should be denied because they are neither necessary nor proportionate. "Such measures constitute inducements to the identified witnesses to provide evidence to fit the prosecution's case and effectively grant an immunity against prosecution for individuals who may either bear responsibility for acts of serious violence during the PEV; or be falsely claiming to have committed such crimes," Uhuru's lawyers said.

 They also argued that their investigations have revealed crimes committed within the jurisdiction of the ICC that are unrelated to the PEV but are relevant to the witnesses' credibility.

- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-143345/let-mungiki-testify-public-says-kenyatta#sthash.viYV2GPR.dpuf

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower