Kenya: Raila Odinga calls for an international inquiry into the death of lawyer Paul Gicheru
Lawyer Paul Gicheru at the ICC in February 2022. © CPI
Text by: Florence Morice Follow
3 mins
Voices are rising to demand an international investigation into the death of lawyer Paul Gicheru in Kenya.
The lawyer, who was being prosecuted by the ICC, died suddenly at his home on Monday September 26.
He was accused of having bribed several witnesses to refuse to speak against William Ruto, on his role in the post-election violence 2007-2008, to the point of making it impossible to continue the investigations.
The verdict in this case was imminent.
The death of the accused, in mysterious circumstances, will lead to the closure of the file.
In this context, the opponent Raila Odinga, like the lawyer for the deceased at the ICC, believe that the investigation cannot be carried out solely by the Kenyan police.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi
,
The circumstances of Paul Gicheru's death raise questions:
a sudden death at his home
, at the age of 52, while his son, at his side that day, had to be hospitalized urgently and then, before him, several witnesses linked to the Kenyan case at the ICC have already mysteriously died…
The most famous of these is Meshack Yebei, who in January 2015 went missing before being found dead in Tsavo National Park.
But most recently, in July, it was a teacher cited as a potential witness in Gicheru's case who succumbed to Kakamega, and was found lying on the side of the road next to his motorcycle, after suddenly falling ill in circumstances also blurry.
In this context, for the opponent Raila Odinga, an international investigation is essential.
“
None of these murders has been elucidated
,” notes Makau Mutua, his spokesperson.
“
It is therefore not reasonable to imagine that the investigation into Mr. Gicheru's death can be carried out properly in Kenya without risking the case being covered up.
Therefore, we would like a team of international investigators to be assembled to find out what happened to him.
All the more so, explains the spokesperson, as this death has consequences beyond Kenya since it will lead to the closure
of the Gicheru case at the ICC
.
The verdict, which was however imminent, will therefore not be pronounced… However, this verdict could have given the opportunity to international justice to re-examine the William Ruto affair, the two files being intimately linked.
For Michael Karnavas, lawyer for Paul Gicheru in The Hague, there is fertile ground for speculation there, which the current president would have every interest in dispelling.
“
If he wishes to eliminate all suspicion, I can't think of a better way for him than to invite the ICC to come to Kenya with its experts, to shed light on this case, in the greatest possible transparency.
The lawyer also believes that the ICC "
should put pressure on the Kenyan government
" to be involved in the investigations to avoid that in the future "
witnesses or defendants are reluctant to cooperate
".
Paul Gicheru had indeed decided on his own
to go at the end of 2020
, to everyone's surprise.
Since then, however, he had been provisionally released "
at his request
" and "
was not under the protection of the ICC
", recalls Fadi El Abdallah, spokesperson for the International Criminal Court.
Given the seriousness of the case, has the ICC nevertheless asked to carry out its own investigations?
Asked about this, the prosecutor's office kicks in: "
The prosecutor's office is waiting for further information and to respond in more detail at the appropriate time
".
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Kenya
William Ruto
International justice