The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has sought to submit phone call data records of lawyer Paul Gicheru and that of the chairman of an insurance firm associated with Deputy President William Ruto as additional evidence.
This is despite the court ordering the prosecutor to close its case by filing a notice of completion of its presentation of evidence. It had until March 25, this year, to file the notice.
The prosecutor is also seeking to submit the investigator’s report, saying it ‘would help the chamber in truth-seeking mission.’
“The necessity of adding these documents to the prosecution’s list of evidence arose as a result of the defence’s cross-examination of P-0730.
These items comprise call data records of phone numbers attributed to Gicheru and Simatwo respectively as well as an investigator’s report and annex by P-0730 providing relevant contextual information regarding the call data record,” said ICC’s deputy prosecutor James Stewart.
At the same time, Stewart wants to produce an investigator’s report derived from an interview with P-0028. According to him, the report contains the witness’s contact list which is relevant to the case.
The first prosecution witness in the case against Gicheru at ICC used many phones and sim cards to hoodwink investigators and the accused.
The court heard that the witness (P0800) used the phones and lines to engage the accused, other witnesses and investigators from Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the same time.
P0800, while being cross-examined, admitted having phones and lines but could not remember the number.
Gicheru’s lawyer Michael G Karnavas pointed out to the court that even OTP investigators wondered why the witness had so many numbers.
“Investigators asked you to stop communicating with other witnesses but you changed the numbers when you did it. You were not doing it for your security alone but for investigators not to know who you were talking to,” Karnavas said.
Gicheru has been accused of undermining a case against Deputy President William Ruto and former KASS radio presenter Joshua arap Sang’ at the ICC.
The prosecution led by senior trial lawyer Anton Steynberg believes Gicheru played a key role in a scheme to thwart the trial of Ruto.
Ruto and Sang’ were accused of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in which 1,200 people died.
ICC judges ruled in 2016 that the two had no case to answer, although they left the door open for possible fresh charges in future.
They said the case had been hampered with by political interference and threats against witnesses.