ICC acts tough on Uhuru's assets, phone records

The International Criminal Court has directed that the Kenyan government be compelled to provide the property and financial records associated with President Uhuru Kenyatta if the government was not ready to fully cooperate.

In a ruling on Tuesday, the judges further unanimously endorsed the prosecution’s revised request that Attorney-General Githu Muigai had contested during the status conference on July 9.

The AG seems to have lost his argument, as the Trial Chamber V (B) ruled that the prosecution’s request was right within the provisions of the Rome Statute of cooperation.

The judges said voluntary compliance was welcome but not satisfactory and other measures, including compulsory acquisition of the records, be employed to obtain the documents.

“The chamber considers that additional steps, pursuant to ordinary domestic investigative channels — utilizing compulsory measures where appropriate — ought to be undertaken in parallel and in a timely manner.”

'ALL MEANS POSSIBLE'

The judges further directed the prosecution to "pursue all possible means to get Mr Kenyatta’s telephone records.

At the status conference on July 9, Mr Muigai had argued that the prosecution’s request lacked specificity.

Out of the items prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had asked for from the Kenyan authorities, she has only received the bare minimum, with Mr Muigai citing legal and technical hurdles.

The AG had argued that the government would “continue cooperating within the limitations placed by the law of Kenya and within the limitations placed by the administrative, managerial and other issues that affect this.”

Of the items that Ms Bensouda had requested she was only able to obtain the details of four the vehicles Mr Kenyatta owned or regularly used between November 1, 2007 and April 1, 2008. These were obtained with the consent of the accused.

KENYATTA'S ASSETS

In fact, Lands secretary Charity Ngilu, in a letter that was read to the court, said that "doing the best with the resources and time available to us, we have not located any land, title or property registered under the name of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta."

President Kenyatta’s trial for crimes against humanity is tentatively set to commence on October 7.

Ahead of the commencement of the trial, the prosecution wants information on Mr Kenyatta’s assets, phone details, M-Pesa transactions and Value Added Tax information, foreign exchange transactions and companies or businesses he owned had interests in between June 1, 2007 and December 15, 2010.

The prosecution is also hoping to get information on assets owned by Mr Kenyatta’s family and associates, as well as land or real property registered in Mr Kenyatta’s name either personally or through third parties that might have been transferred to any other person or entity between June 1, 2007 and December 15, 2010.