Uhuru to take witness stand at ICC hearings

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will present himself as a witness during the confirmation of charges hearings at the International Criminal Court next week.

The move by Mr Kenyatta means that the prosecution will have the opportunity to directly question him during cross-examination. (Read: ICC allows Uhuru to change witness)

His co-accused, head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and Postmaster General Hussein Ali, will not be taking the stand but will each call two witnesses, according to the schedule of the hearings released by the Pre-Trial Chamber II.

Mr Kenyatta’s defence will also call another witness who is yet to be identified. Mr Muthaura and Mr Ali will also call two witnesses each though they will also have the opportunity to address the court at the beginning of the hearings.

The Finance minister had last week requested to change one of his witnesses after his defence submitted that the prosecution had changed the nature of its case. The Chamber allowed Mr Kenyatta to make changes to his witness list but denied him the opportunity to add an extra one.

According to the schedule, the hearings will take place from September 21 to October 5 though from the experience of the first case against William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and Joshua Sang, this period may be shorter.

The three suspects have also indicated that they will be challenging the jurisdiction and admissibility of their cases at the ICC. Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova has asked the three to file their applications on the challenges by Monday.

“The Single Judge recalls the limited purpose of the Hearing and reminds all parties and participants to avoid repetitive arguments and to confine themselves to what is strictly necessary so that the Chamber, which has carefully read all the material available, discharge its functions,” Judge Trendafilova said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kenyatta’s lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins have asked the Pre-Trial Chamber II to reject a request by the victims’ lawyer Sureta Chana to be allowed to access confidential lists of evidence filed by the defence and the prosecution.