The testimony of the first witness against Deputy President William Ruto opened intense debate among lawmakers at The Hague with some strongly discrediting her testimony.
The MPs and senators who thronged the public gallery at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) described the witness as ‘omnipresent’ whose account of everything was unbelievable.
“Surely, this witness was everywhere. If things were that bad as she says, how she survived,” one lawmaker said at the public gallery as the woman narrated her narrow escape from the Kiamba church.
Their loud voices prompted a security officer to appeal for calm.
Some
of the Kalenjin MPs and senators familiar with the Kiamba area also
disputed part of her testimony. Led by Kericho Senator Charles Keter
and Baringo MP Grace Kiptanui, the MPs said it was not possible to trek
from Kiambaa to Kimuli area where the woman said she lived.
“Those two
places are so far that it’s not even possible to walk. You can’t even
take one hour to get there,” she said.
Washitakiwa William Ruto (kushoto) na Joshua arap Sang wakizungumza kabla ya kuanza kusikilizwa kwa kesi yao Septemba 10 mwaka huu ICC nchini Uholanzi.
But Tuesday, Ruto looked unusually unsettled as the prosecution’s case sank in.
But Tuesday, Ruto looked unusually unsettled as the prosecution’s case sank in.
He
followed the proceedings very keenly paying little attention to the
public gallery where his wife, daughter, Kenyan MPs and Ambassador
Makena Muchiri followed the proceedings
The testimony of the first
witness also appeared to hit the senators and MPs - who initially took
glee in her apparent ‘mix-ups’ - like a sledgehammer.
But the
prosecution lawyers were also anxious and clearly on the lookout fearing
that the witness would unknowingly reveal her identity or the identity
of those close to her. At one time, they were thrown into a spin as the
witness mistakenly named her child.
And upon realising her blunder, the
witness became very emotional with Prosecution Counsel Anton Stynberg
asking for a brief adjournment saying that she was visibly upset.
“I
know this is a difficult experience you are going through. So we are
going to take a break so that you can recover and continue after lunch,”
said judge Chile Eboe-Osuji.
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