Kenya Police Probe Death Of Lawyer On Trial For ICC Witness Tampering

Kenyan police were investigating the death of a lawyer who was on trial for allegedly bribing and intimidating witnesses in the failed International Criminal Court case against President William Ruto, an officer said Tuesday.

Paul Gicheru had been accused by ICC prosecutors of running an “egregious and damaging” witness tampering scheme that made it impossible to pursue allegations against Ruto over post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008.

His trial opened in February this year, with prosecutors alleging that Gicheru paid bribes of up to one million Kenyan shillings ($8,300) and threatened the safety of ICC witnesses, one of them at gunpoint.

Gicheru had denied the allegations throughout, pleading not guilty at The Hague-based court, which is the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission urged the authorities to “conduct swift and conclusive investigations” into the death.