Judge seeks to make up for lost time in Ruto case
What you need to know:
- Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said this would make up for lost time
The International Criminal Court will extend the hours it will sit in the trial of Deputy President William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.
Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said this would make up for lost time. Excerpts of Wednesday’s proceedings:
Judge Osuji: Some housekeeping matters. We have lost time in the trial due to issues beyond our control. We are, however, making efforts to make up for lost time. Parts of these efforts include extending sitting hours. We will extend sittings hours today and tomorrow. As you have noted today, we started earlier than usual. We shall possibly sit extended hours on Friday.
I also announced during the last Status Conference that we would not be sitting on Wednesday October 9. If the court is available we shall revisit the issue and sit on that day. As you know, the reason for not sitting on that date is because of the use of the court by another chamber.
Mr Katwa you left us last week with a question on whether the trial schedule will be varied beyond November…
Katwa Kigen: Yes Mr President …
Judge Osuji: This will remain as initially indicated pending any development in future.
Katwa Kigen: With your permission, Mr President, could I say something? My client and my team appreciate court’s desire to catch up with lost time and in the same spirit we are happy to include Saturdays. We do not mind having sitting on Saturdays.
Karim Khan: I have this morning spoken with my client Mr Ruto and we are anxious to move this case forward. As we go forward, we are happy with the court’s decision to extend sittings and even sit during weekends. You are sure of maximum flexibility from the defence.
Judge Osuji: Thank you.
Anton Stynberg: The prosecution is available to work as hard. But we have to also take care of the interest of the witnesses. The impact of sitting over six hours on the witness should also be taken into the account.
Judge Osuji: We have to also look into the International Labour Organisation standards. But we shall take this into account …we will now call the witness and bring down the shades …
