Ocampo trashes Uhuru group claims
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has dismissed defence evidence in Kenya’s second case at the International Criminal Court that Mungiki supported ODM in the 2007 elections. (Read: ICC judges urged to dismiss Uhuru, Ali plea)
In his final submission filed on Wednesday, the prosecutor says the Mungiki provided its services on a “willing buyer, willing seller basis”.
The prosecutor has used the three suspects’ statements to tear into their evidence including an extensive summary dismissing Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s testimony.
He has also dismissed assertions by President Kibaki in defence of Public Service boss Francis Muthaura and trashed Postmaster-General Hussein Ali’s witness statements.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo says the defence teams selectively used one of his witnesses’ statements to claim that the Mungiki was working with ODM before and after the elections.
He tells the judges that a look at a longer version of the statement shows the Mungiki also worked with PNU.
“The excerpts from Witness 0012’s statement cited by the defence to show purported Mungiki support for the ODM — a brief version of what is set out — were taken out of context,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo says.
“When read in full context, Witness 0012’s statement is consistent with the prosecution’s theory that the Mungiki provided services on a “willing buyer, willing seller basis.”
He further dismisses the defence assertion that his witnesses are unreliable and of questionable credibility and points out contradictions in the defence witnesses’ statements.
“What would be incredible and unbelievable would be for witnesses to mirror exact testimonies and accounts of events which occurred a few years before their interviews with the prosecution,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo submits.
The prosecutor says Mr Kenyatta presents unconvincing alibis placing him away from all the locations of the preparatory meetings alleged by the prosecution.
He says that evidence provided by the defence contains gaps in the time-frames thus making it hard to convincingly prove that the DPM could not have attended the meetings.
He also dismisses claims by Mr Kenyatta’s defence that his witnesses were extortionists and used Kikuyu MP Lewis Nguyai’s statement to support his assertion.
He adds that Mr Nguyai’s “admitted proximity and close relationship to Mr Kenyatta further makes the objectivity of his testimony questionable”.
“The testimony of Witness D13-02 (Mr Nguyai) even if credited by the Chamber, did not portray an extortion attempt but rather a long-standing financial relationship between him and Mungiki leaders which can only be fully explored at trial,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
On Mr Muthaura, the prosecutor says President Kibaki’s statement does not prove his operatives were not working with the outlawed terror group secretly.
The prosecutor submits that Mr Ali’s defence does not dispute that he had access to intelligence information through NSIS reports and also acknowledged that he received the reports that warned about impending attacks in Nakuru and Naivasha.
Separately, victims of post-election violence in the case want the charges against the three suspects amended to include destruction and looting of property.
Through their lawyer Morris Anyah, the 229 victims say destruction and looting of property should be part of the crime against humanity.
