William Ruto's lawyer Karim Khan urges swift investigation into death of ICC witness

Deputy President William Ruto's lawyer at the ICC, Karim Khan, has written to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations seeking a speedy investigation into the death of an ICC witness whose body was found last week.

Mr Khan wrote to Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro, asking him for thorough investigations into the death of Mr Meshack Yebei, whom he called a “critical witness to the Defence”.

“We had referred to the ICC Victims and Witness Unit for protection. The news of his abduction and murder is both shocking to us and a matter of grave concern,” Mr Khan said in the letter.

Mr Yebei had gone missing from his home in Turbo in Uasin Gishu County before his body was discovered in Kapsabet three days ago.

Mr Khan, who represents Mr Ruto in the ongoing case at the International Criminal Court, asked Mr Muhoro to direct a DNA test of the body to ascertain it is indeed Mr Yebei's.

“We also note reports that the body is in a badly decomposed state where identification seems very difficult. We also have information that the clothing and the shoes recovered with the body are different from those that Mr Yebei is said to have been wearing on the day of his alleged abduction” Mr Khan said.

UGANDAN NUMBER

Mr Yebei is said to have sent a message to his mother’s mobile phone using a Ugandan number, stating in Kalenjin that he had gone to Uganda urgently.

The message stated that he was with two people who work with ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. He only stated their first names as Patrick and Lugusa.

Mr Khan has asked Mr Muhoro to conduct investigations in conjunction with Ugandan investigators to establish who the mobile number is registered to, the location of the handset at the time the message was sent and the other communications made using the mobile phone so as to establish the identities of persons connected to the user of the phone.

“In the event that the DNA tests confirm that the recovered body indeed belongs to Mr Yebei, we request that you deploy all the resources at your disposal to prioritize the investigations and the circumstances of his alleged abduction and murder,” Mr Khan said in the letter seen by the Nation.

DEATH THREATS

He said that they would seek to brief the investigators directly on certain matters that may provide direction and may be relevant to the investigations.

Before Mr Yebei's disappearance and subsequent death under mysterious circumstances, he is said to have publicly stated that he had received death threats, although it is not clear whether he had already testified.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko directed Mr Muhoro to conduct speedy and thorough investigations.

In a letter sent to him and dated January 6, Mr Tobiko said, “I have read media reports of the murder of Mr Yebei. Pursuant of the provisions of Article 157(4) of the constitution, I direct you to commence investigations with a view of bringing those responsible to justice.

“Upon conclusion of the investigations the inquiry findings should be submitted to me for perusal and appropriate action,” he said.