ICC seeks views on probe report

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The ICC requires that suspended minister William Ruto, ODM chairman Henry Kosgey, radio presenter Joshua Sang, Head of Civil boss Francis Muthaura, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Postmaster-General Hussein Ali give their views on the development of Kenya's probe into their role in the 2008 post-election violence .

The International Criminal Court has asked the Ocampo Six to give their views on the government’s latest report on local investigations into the 2007/08 post-election violence.

The Appeals Chamber judges indicated that they did not consider it necessary to hear more submissions from the government or the prosecutor and were instead asking the suspects to file their responses.

“Accordingly, it is not necessary to hear further from either Kenya or the prosecutor on this matter.

“However, the Appeals Chamber considers it desirable to provide an opportunity for the other parties to provide their views,” the judges said in the decision.

Kenya has requested the Appeals Chamber to accept the report as further confirmation that the national investigation into the six ICC suspects is progressing.

Access to evidence

The judges have also said that they will first rule on whether Kenya’s appeal against a decision to deny it access to evidence and documents held by the court is admissible before handling the case challenging the ICC trials.

And ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has been ordered to respond to the government’s request to have the two appeals handled together by the end of Wednesday.

“Subject to the decision of the Appeals Chamber on the admissibility of the appeal, directions will be given with regard to the submission of the document in support of the appeal and the time within which it may be filed, as well as the time within which the prosecutor may lodge his response,” the Appeals Chamber said in their ruling.

The government has argued that the Appeals Chamber should not decide the Admissibility Appeal without determining whether Kenya is entitled to have access to ICC’s evidence.

“As the Appeals Chamber will be aware, one of the grounds of the government’s admissibility appeal is that the Pre-Trial Chamber erred in not deciding the government’s cooperation request before finally determining the admissibility application,” the government argues.

Last week, Mr Moreno-Ocampo filed his response to Kenya’s updated report asking the appeal judges to dismiss it.

He argued that the report provides no proof of concrete investigative steps against the suspects and that it is “unclear, inconsistent and lacks probative value”.