Ruto returns, but no word from Ocampo

Suspended Cabinet minister William Ruto arrived on Monday to a hero’s welcome put together by his supporters after a trip to The Hague for a meeting with International Criminal Court prosecutors.

Addressing the press shortly after arrival, Mr Ruto declared himself satisfied with the outcome of his meeting with officials from prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s office. Mr Ruto seemed confident that he had persuaded the ICC prosecutors that he played no role in the post-election violence.

Mr Ocampo’s office did not respond to queries seeking clarifications on claims by Mr Ruto about the nature and outcome of the discussions.

Mr Ruto, who flew to The Hague on Wednesday night last week accompanied by Belgut MP Charles Keter, said that they had met for about 30 hours with ICC investigators and had useful discussions.

“My trip was worth every minute of it and I am happy that I made that decision to go. They asked me many questions and I answered them to the best of my knowledge,” he said, adding that the investigators also listened very carefully to his questions and answered them.

Names of real suspects

The burden of proof, he said, was now in the court of the ICC investigators, who he said, would bring out the names of the real suspects behind the chaos that broke out after the December 2007 disputed presidential elections, killing some 1,133 people and uprooting another 650,000 from their homes.

“I have done my best as a citizen of this country and as a leader. It is up to the investigators to carry out their duties,” he said.

Mr Ruto brushed aside a query on whether he had had extended discussions with Mr Moreno-Ocampo, as claimed by sources in his entourage in spite of the fact that the ICC prosecutor was reported to have been in London.

On Monday, it was clear that Mr Ruto’s political supporters had spared no effort in organising a triumphal welcome. His Kenya Airways flight touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport around 8am, but crowds had begun arriving at the airport as early as 5am — an hour ahead of the originally-scheduled arrival time.

By 6am, the international arrivals unit was crowded with dozens of supporters. A group of women traditional dancers clad in beaded yellow and red outfits held aloft placards reading “Shujaa Wetu Karibu Nyumbani (Our Hero, Welcome Home)”.

At that time, the waiting crowd moved closer to the door, but were disappointed that Mr Ruto was not among the arriving passengers.

Then news came that the plane he was on could not land because of thick fog and had been diverted to Mombasa.

Despite that delay, the supporters did not tire. They waited, and their hero finally emerged at 8.20am. The crowd burst in whistles, song and dance the moment Mr Ruto appeared.

Journalists jostled to capture his arrival at the waiting bay as the crowd of his supporters got frenzied. His security pushed and shoved, clearing for him the way to his car, in which he stood and gave a brief address to his supporters.

He thanked his family, friends and supporters who were at the airport to receive him, adding, he was grateful for their support and prayers while he was at The Hague.

Before driving off, he declared that he had returned home glad that there was still room for the truth to be known.

“Ukweli ukidhihirika, uongo utajulikana (When the truth comes out, falsehood will be known),” he said.

His lawyers, Mr Katwa Kigen and Dr Kithure Kindiki had arrived earlier, on Sunday night and denied reports that Mr Ruto’s mission to The Hague had anything to with attempts to get President Kibaki or Prime Minister Raila Odinga held accountable for the post-election violence.

However, the information on Mr Ruto’s strategy carried in the Sunday Nation had actually come from his legal defence team and used with their full knowledge.

On Mr Ruto’s arrival on Monday, sources within his entourage revealed that he spent most of the 30 hours with the ICC officials responding to adverse damaging evidence against him in reports by the Waki Commission of Inquiry and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

The source claimed that Mr Ruto, in turn, delivered to The Hague his own stinging dossier against the conduct of human rights organisations central to investigating the post-election chaos.

According to the source in his party, Mr Ruto was surprised to discover that none of the affidavits said to have been sworn by potential witnesses had been submitted to the ICC investigators who interviewed him.

“There were no other accusations against William (Ruto). The questioning was based on the accusations in the KNCHR report and the Waki Commission reports, which are not based on facts.

‘‘They don’t have any affidavits” said a source close to the delegation that was at The Hague.

Soon after arrival on Monday, Mr Ruto hosted a press conference at the Panari Hotel, where he tore into the KNCHR and the judicial inquiry chaired by Mr Justice Philip Waki.

Flanked by MPs allied to him, the suspended minister described the findings of the reports as “lies, propaganda and falsehoods” that had prompted him to go to The Hague to “put the record straight”.

The truth about the plotters and executors of the chaos”, he said, “would soon come out”. However, he did not provide any hints on the nature of fresh information that might emerge.

The KNCHR report On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya’s Post 2007 Election named Mr Ruto as the fifth alleged perpetrator on their list derived from the interviews of victims and witnesses.

The commission alleged the Eldoret North MP played an instrumental role in the planning, incitement and financing of the violence.

The Waki Commission also identified key suspects for further investigation, but kept the list in a sealed envelope handed over to chief mediator Kofi Annan, who later submitted it to Mr Moreno-Ocampo.

Waki ‘falsehoods’

On Monday, Mr Ruto accused the authors of the two reports of failing to give individuals whom they adversely mentioned in their findings an opportunity to “give their side of the story,” accusing the Waki Commission of going further to “peddle falsehoods” that he had appeared before it.

As for those who gave adverse evidence against him, Mr Ruto described them as “political mercenaries recruited, coached, given money and promised a comfortable life outside the country.”

Asked whether he had any evidence of those allegations, or whether he saw any at the ICC headquarters, he said they discussed those matters with the investigators but he could only give limited information.

But in a quick rejoinder, Mr Ndung’u Wainaina of the International Centre for Peace and Conflict dismissed the allegations as political.

“His (Mr Ruto’s )political statement today lacks both ground and merit. And proves he is just engaging in harvesting political and social capital and not genuine legal process.

His mission is to cause anxiety, despondency and despair amongst victims of post-election violence and general public  through discrediting and disparaging the whole of ICC process,” he said.