ICC clears two new witnesses, one a mungiki insider, to testify against President Uhuru Kenyatta

The International Criminal Court sitting at the Hague has allowed the prosecution to bring on board two more witnesses to testify in the case facing President Uhuru Kenyatta. One of the witnesses is said to be a former Mungiki adherent.

The other new entrant is a gender violence expert.

The trial chambers judges however, denied President Kenyatta legal team the requested they had made asking for a postponement of the case facing their client for at least a period of four months should the new witnesses be allowed to take the stand.

The judges reminded Kenyatta's defence team that the prosecutor had promised to use the witnesses after January next year, that is 2014.

The Mungiki insider is only referred to as witness P548 while his gender based violence expert counterpart is known as witness P66. It is however, agreed that the two witnesses will bring new dimensions in the cases facing President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“The Chamber is persuaded from P-548’s witness statements and the prosecution’s submissions that much of the proposed evidence of P-548... brings to light previously unknown facts, which have a significant bearing on the case and would be of relevance in determining the questions at issue in this case,”  the chamber said while making their ruling regarding the mungiki insider.

As for the sexual violence expert, the judges agreed with the prosecution that it was a replacement of another witness, P-426, who withdrew from the case under unexplained circumstances.

“The Chamber is satisfied that Witness 426’s withdrawal means that P-66’s proposed evidence brings to light otherwise unknown facts, which have a significant bearing upon the case. Further, given the overlap P-66’s proposed evidence has with that of former Witness 426, the Chamber considers that the Defence has previously had an opportunity to prepare for similar evidence in this case,” they ruled.

The judges also directed the prosecution team to disclose the identity of he two witnesses to President Uhuru's defence team.

“The Chamber orders the prosecution to disclose the identities of Witnesses 548 and 66 and all disclosable information relating to them forthwith and directs the prosecution to call Witnesses 548 and 66 among the last witnesses of the prosecution case,” they ruled.