NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 5 – Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru, who was presented to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday evening after surrendering to the Dutch authorities over witness meddling, will be appearing before the court on Friday.
ICC, in a statement issued on Friday, said Gicheru will appear via a video link, due to COVID-19 pandemic, and will be represented by a duty counsel.
“The first appearance of Paul Gicheru before the court is scheduled for 6 November 2020 at 16:00 Hague time,” reads the statement.
During the first appearance, the Pre-Trial Chamber confirms the identity of the suspect, ensures that the suspect understands the charges, confirms the language in which the proceedings should be conducted, and sets a date to begin the confirmation of charges hearing.
After the initial appearance hearing, the Pre-Trial Chamber will start the process leading to the confirmation of charges hearing, a process which may take several months, after which the process of disclosure of evidence will start.
During the disclosure of evidence process, the prosecutor must present sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to full trial.
“The prosecutor will have to provide the Defense team the evidence she has collected during his investigation and on which she wants to rely for the confirmation of charges hearing,” ICC stated.
Under the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor also has a duty to disclose exonerating information or materials to a suspect which in any way tend to suggest his innocence or mitigate his or her guilt, or which may affect the credibility of the Prosecution’s evidence.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday asked Kenyan authorities to facilitate the surrender of Walter Barasa and Philip Bett , who alongside Gicheru are facing charges of allegedly bribing six prosecution witnesses to recant their statements.
The witnesses said to have improperly engaged were involving the ICC cases where President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy William Ruto and four other Kenyans were tried at the Hague.
The famous ‘Ocampo Six’ were accused of murder, deportation or forceful transfer of population, persecution, rape, and other inhumane acts during the 2007 post election violence.
This was after chaos and violence erupted in December 2007 after retired President Mwai Kibaki was announced the winner in the presidential poll, in a race he closely contested with ODM leader Raila Odinga.
