THE HAGUE: The defence of Deputy President William Ruto discredited the testimony of the second prosecution witness as a tissue of lies as they poked holes into his evidence.
Deputy President William Ruto
Ruto’s lead lawyer Karim Khan painted the picture of the witness as an extortionist only in the process for financial gain.
You deceived and coned your way to The Hague,â Khan challenged the witness. This, even as it emerged that the witness claims that ODM, through Ruto, bankrolled the youth at the height of the violence that rocked the country after the 2007 polls.
According to his testimony in court, the witness, only identified as 326, said Ruto sent Sh300,000 to ODM Rift Valley politician and businessman Jackson Kibor to assist the youth who were under siege in violence hotspots to move to safety.
Incriminating events
“The money that was sent to Mr Jackson Kibor was to help the youth to move from the most affected areas. Thats your recollection. Is it? posed Khan and the witness responded in the affirmative.
The witness said he heard an ODM official only identified as person 1 instruct another person 4 to giveRuto the said amount of money on January 3. But Khan yesterday produced a letter from Co-operative Bank-Parliament Road and another letter from former ODM Treasurer Omingo Magara rebutting the testimony of the witness. âI wish to state categorically that during my tenure as treasurer of the party there was no money given to Mr William Samoei Ruto,â Mr Magara said in a sworn affidavit.
He said the party’s Constitution did not allow him as the treasurer to make hard cash payments to any party official, including their presidential flag-bearer Raila Odinga.
The Co-operative Bank letter, complete with bank statements, also confirmed that money was not withdrawn from the ODM bank account during the said dates.
“From the statement, is it clear that no money was withdrawn on the second, third, fourth and fifth of January 2008,” Khan asked.
But the witness responded: “From the statement that I was told from the people I happened to talk with, that is what happened.” In January 2008, Kibor was put behind bars regarding the bloodshed that rocked the Rift Valley but was later released.
Khan yesterday narrowed down his cross-examination on incriminating events, alleged use of corded language and dates to challenge the witness. He played a video of an ODM rally in Kitale ahead of the 2007 General Election showing that only Raila spoke during the event contrary to what the witness had alleged.
According to the video obtained from a local television station, Ruto and the rest of the Pentagon team did not get a chance to speak since heavy rain disrupted the event.
“Would you be surprised that the only person who spoke at the rally was Raila Odinga and not WilliamRuto? Khan asked and the witness stood his ground.
On Monday, the witness insisted that Ruto had used coded language when he spoke at the rally.
âIt is time the hyenas would give back the land so that landless people can own land,â he quoted Ruto as saying at the rally, adding that the crowd understood the term to mean âthose who have grabbed land.â
Khan also produced newspaper cuttings indicating that the last ODM rally was in fact held at Nyayo Stadium and not Uhuru Park grounds as claimed by the witness.
According to the British lawyer, the only rally that ODM had at Uhuru Park was on December 6.
“Are you aware that the rally that took place at Uhuru Park on the 24th of December 2007 was for PNU and for ODM Kenya on 23th December,” Khan asked.
But testifying in an open session, his face blurred and voice distorted, the witness maintained that he attended the ODM rally at Uhuru Park.
Earlier in the morning, the witness painted a picture of Ruto as a man who declined deliberately to call an end to the violence.
“Mr Ruto could have just advised people to stop the violence around Eldoret area where about 35 to 40 people had died at a church in Kiambaa,” he said.
They played pictures of big Orange campaigns in the lead-up to the 2007 polls and press conferences after violence broke out after the polls.
At one of the press conferences, Raila demanded that Kibaki accepts that he ( Kibaki) did not win the election before any negotiations: âWe want Kibaki to accept that he did not win the election, then we can invite a mediator and talk,â Raila demanded.
By FELIX OLICK, The Standard
