Witness protection is a must if crime is to be fought successfully
What you need to know:
- The confirmation that the body found in Tsavo forest was that of Mr Yebei raises concerns about high-risk potential witnesses.
- ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda described the tampering and disappearance of witnesses as unprecedented.
- When witnesses withdraw from proceedings due to intimidation or actual harm, convictions become impossible. Progress towards formalised and functioning witness protection has been slow and weak.
Media reports indicate that doctors at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital have identified the body of Meshack Yebei.
Mr Yebei disappeared on December 28 while his daughter was seeking treatment at an Eldoret hospital.
Defence lawyers of Deputy President William Ruto claimed that Mr Yebei was key witness in his trial.
According to ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah, Mr Yebei was under a witness protection programme. “The ICC registry had afforded Mr Yebei security measures and a safe house in a new residency with a guard and alarms. However, he appears to have returned to Eldoret prior to his abduction,” Mr Abdallah said.
Since the Kenyan ICC cases began, accusations of tampering with witnesses from both sides have abounded. In 2013, an official at the Prosecutor’s Office said the cases had experienced more witness attrition than any other in the history of the court.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda described the tampering and disappearance of witnesses as unprecedented.
Currently Congolese Jean Pierre Bemba and his aides and lawyers are being prosecuted for tampering with witnesses.
In her brief to the Trial Chamber, Ms Bensouda said she intended to prove that about eight Mungiki members who dealt personally with President Kenyatta were eliminated. The Prosecution withdrew its case against Mr Kenyatta last December.
The confirmation that the body found in Tsavo forest was that of Mr Yebei raises concerns about high-risk potential witnesses.
Credible and effective witness protection is inevitable for the effective prosecution of such crimes. Witnesses are not mere objects of a trial but key subjects and stakeholders in the administration of justice.
LITTLE OR NO CONCERN
The government has shown little or no concern in addressing this grave matter. Protecting witnesses is a fundamental element in the fight against crime and corruption. It encourages individuals to cooperate with justice and advance the judicial process.
Witnesses are the cornerstones of successful international and national criminal justice systems. Prosecutors and defence teams depend on witnesses who are reliable and whose testimony can be accepted as truthful, accurate and complete.
When witnesses withdraw from proceedings due to intimidation or actual harm, convictions become impossible. Progress towards formalised and functioning witness protection has been slow and weak.
The writer is the executive director International Centre for Policy and Conflict. [email protected]
