Yebei was threatened by an ICC prosecution witness, claims Ruto's lawyer
Meshack Yebei. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Khan alleged that Ms Bensouda’s team was aware that Mr Yebei had been threatened.
- He stated that he had asked the prosecution to explain the steps they took, after receiving information of threats against the late Yebei, to protect him.
- He said they first met Mr Yebei in July 2013.
Deputy President William Ruto’s lawyer has claimed that Meshack Yebei, who was killed early this month, had been threatened by an ICC prosecution witness.
In a fresh twist to the riddle surrounding Mr Yebei's death, Mr Karim Khan also alleged that Fatou Bensouda’s office was aware of the threats.
He questioned the prosecution's failure to take steps to prevent the death of Mr Yebei.
Mr Khan — the Deputy President’s lead lawyer in the case he faces at the ICC alongside former radio journalist Joshua Sang — urged the government to investigate the murder of Mr Yebei whose mutilated body was found floating on River Yala and make the findings public.
He also sought to clarify the relations which the slain man had, with both the defence team and the prosecution in the ICC case.
(Read: Yebei corrupted ICC witnesses)
Mr Khan, in a salvo against the ICC prosecution, alleged that Ms Bensouda’s team was aware that Mr Yebei had been threatened by one of their witnesses months before he was abducted and murdered.
“The Defence has recently learned that the Prosecution was fully on notice, months before the alleged abduction and murder of Mr Yebei, that he had been threatened with abduction by one of the Prosecution’s own witnesses,” he said in a statement.
The information, he went on, was the reason he referred Mr Yebei to the ICC’s Victims and Witness Unit (VWU) for protection.
He stated that he had asked the prosecution to explain the steps they took, after receiving information of threats against the late Yebei, to protect him.
“I have requested information from the Prosecution as to what steps it took to alert the VWU of the information it received from one prosecution witness that MrYebei had been threatened with abduction by another prosecution witness. I am still awaiting a response from the Prosecution to this enquiry,” he said.
Mr Yebei’s mutilated body was found on River Yala on January 2, days after he was reported to have disappeared by his family.
CONFUSION
While questions surrounding his murder are yet to be answered, more confusion was thrown into the saga, making it impossible to tell whether Mr Yebei was a prosecution or a defence witness.
In a letter leaked to the media, Mr Khan had written to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) boss Ndegwa Muhoro, urging him to investigate the murder since the victim was their witness.
But Eldoret-based human rights activist Ken Wafula claimed that Mr Yebei was the prosecution’s witness and claimed he may have been murdered to stop him from testifying against Mr Ruto.
This prompted the ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel to clarify that while they had offered Mr Yebei protection under the VWU, he was not their witness.
He clarified that Mr Yebei was abducted and subsequently killed when he travelled to Eldoret from a third country when he had been relocated.
There were allegations over ICC prosecution's role in the abduction and the killing, which Ms Bensouda responded, denying their involvement.
DROPPED OUT
Ms Bensouda further stated that Mr Yebei was dropped from their list of witnesses when he was suspected to influence their witnesses to drop out.
“Any suggestion that the Office of the Prosecutor was involved in Mr Yebei’s alleged abduction and murder is both outrageous and utterly false. Nothing could be further from the truth,” she said.
(Read: Yebei 'was dropped’ by Bensouda)
The ICC prosecutor went on: “Mr. Yebei was ultimately not included on the Prosecution’s list of trial witnesses due to, amongst other reasons, information indicating that Mr Yebei was deeply implicated in the scheme to corrupt Prosecution witnesses in the case against Mr Ruto and Mr Sang.
On Tuesday, Mr Khan said Mr Yebei was one of their key witnesses who could have revealed the tactics used by the prosecution to 'concoct’ evidence against Mr Ruto.
He said they first met Mr Yebei in July 2013.
However, the slain man was later interviewed by the prosecution team without their knowledge outside Kenya.
Mr Khan claimed that Mr Yebei denied allegations of interfering with witnesses.
