Kenya: Sudden death of lawyer Paul Gicheru prosecuted by the ICC and close to William Ruto
Lawyer Paul Gicheru at the ICC in February 2022. © CPI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru was found dead at his home in Nairobi on Monday September 26.
The police have opened an investigation to determine the causes of his death.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Florence Morice
The lawyer, in his fifties, was found dead Monday evening in his bed, according to his family, in the suburbs of Nairobi.
The circumstances and causes of his death remain uncertain at this time.
According to his relatives quoted by the Kenyan press, he would have had a meal and then went to bed without waking up.
His son, who would have shared this meal with him, reportedly complained of stomach pains before being hospitalized.
The Kenyan Human Rights Commission says it is "
concerned
" by this "
shocking
" news and urges the authorities to "
conduct a prompt and conclusive investigation
".
End of investigations against William Ruto?
The death of Paul Gicheru comes as the
trial against him
in The Hague was coming to an end;
the judges were deliberating, although the date of the verdict had not yet been set.
The lawyer was prosecuted by the ICC, which accused him of having bribed and intimidated witnesses in the proceedings against William Ruto for crimes against humanity in the post-election violence of 2007-2008, which ended in 2016 by a dismissal, for lack of evidence and testimony.
The death of the accused should lead to
the closure of the file
without the judges having to finally rule on these charges.
Asked by RFI, the ICC prosecutor's office declined to comment.
Paul Gicheru's lawyer in The Hague, he said he was "
devastated by the loss
" of his client.
This death arouses great emotion in Kenya.
The association of Kenyan lawyers "
urges
" the police to "
accelerate
" the investigation into the causes of death and wishes a speedy recovery to his hospitalized son "
in critical condition
" according to the association.
William Ruto did not comment on the death of Gicheru, he held his first Council of Ministers on Tuesday and announced the composition of his new government.
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