The International Criminal Court at The Hague has issued warrant of arrest for journalist Walter Barasa for allegedly coercing and intimidating ICC witnesses.
Barasa, a retired journalist who wrote for the Daily Nation and later The People, has confirmed that indeed he has received warrants of arrest against him from the ICC but said he is not worried at all since, according to him, he is innocent.
The ICC alleges that Barasa is behind the sporadic withdrawal of witnesses from the cases facing the Deputy President William Ruto at The Hague.
However, the former journalist has also claimed that the ICC is just but trying to hit back after he refused to cooperate with the court in nailing the Deputy President. He alleges that the ICC investigator Paul Irani, made fruitless efforts in trying to convince him get witnesses from Eldoret who would testify against William Ruto since they had none. He further alleges that the investigator even threatened to issue an arrest warrant and have him send to jail for five years should he fail to cooperate with him.
Meanwhile, the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has also accused Barasa of being behind the delay of witnesses something which forced the ICC judges to adjourn Ruto and Sang's trial.
But Barasa has denied all these allegetaions from the ICC prosecution and said he is ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Court and show the evidence he has to the effect that indeed the prosecution coerced and coached witnesses, among them witness no 536.
If found guilty, Barasa will be send to jail for a maximum of five years.
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