ICC: Duale denies state officials ‘fixed’ Ruto

NAIROBI, KENYA: Majority Leader Adan Duale has denied that powerful people in the administration of

 President Uhuru Kenyatta coached witnesses to fix Deputy President William Ruto in the ongoing cases of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Duale, a member of Ruto’s URP party, made the statement in the National Assembly, as he blamed the opposition for hanging on the reports that Ruto was fixed to drive a wedge between the President and his deputy.
“There’s nobody in government who coached (witnesses) and fixed Ruto apart from the legal team of Ruto in their presentation (at the ICC). We don’t want this matter to be political. URP and TNA are more united than ever before. There’s nobody in government who has fixed either Hon Ruto or Hon Kenyatta,” the Majority Leader told the House.
But the MPs were not convinced because the allegation of tampering with evidence to implicate Ruto came from Jubilee’s Deputy Majority Leader at the Senate, Kericho Senator Charles Keter, who accused senior government officials in the administration of having fixed Ruto.
Like Duale and Ruto, Keter also belongs to the URP party, but, the fact that he made the statements during the weekend, made Duale hint that perhaps Keter was not sober.
“All politicians should speak only when they are sober, particulary over the weekend. It depends on where you slept and where you have been. Let’s speak with sobriety so that we give the right message to the country,” said Duale.
But Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo was not convinced that the people in government had clean hands regarding the cases at the ICC.
“We listen to trial at the Hague every day. We listen to the lies or the truths. But why are people sitting in the Executive with people who framed Ruto? What is the opinion of the government? When will they resign? I also want to know. The same people are the ones who led us to the violence in 2007,” said Midiwo.
Midiwo added: “The carelessness with which politicians are treating this issue is unacceptable for our country”.
The MPs also took issue with the statement that some MPs wanted to mobilise youths to block the airport so that the President does not travel for his date with the ICC come February.
“They say they will organize people to block the airport, so that the President does not go to The Hague and the President has not even responded that they were making very dangerous statement,” said Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba).