The International Criminal Court has downplayed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that there’s a plot to revive his 2007/2008 post-election case at The Hague.
In an exclusive interview with NTV on Thursday, January 23, the DP had claimed that a group of people involving senior government officials were out to block him from ascending to presidency in 2022.
“ I had a discussion with the Director General of NIS late last year and he told me there are characters who have already sent people to Kenya to resuscitate the ICC case against me,” said the DP..
“ They are looking for witnesses to revive the case because they are making every effort to stop my candidature.”
But the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC in The Hague has refused to be drawn into the allegations, terming DP’s remarks as mere speculation.
“The Office of the Prosecutor cannot comment on speculation,” states the three-paragraph statement in response to a Sunday Nation enquiry.
In the statement, the Office of the Prosecutor said that though the charges against DP Ruto had been vacated, the door is still open to future prosecution if new evidence comes to light.
But the statement did not state whether a new evidence had been introduced that would warrant re-examining the case.
“As you are aware, on April 5, 2016, Trial Chamber V (A) vacated the charges against William Samoei Ruto and Joshua arap Sang without prejudice to the prosecution bringing a new case in the future, or in a different form, in light of new evidence,” the statement said.
“As a general matter, in accordance with Article 15 of the Rome Statute — the founding treaty of the ICC — any individual or group from anywhere in the world may send information on alleged crimes to the ICC Prosecutor, who is duty-bound to protect the confidentiality of the information received.
The Office analyses any such materials submitted, as appropriate, in accordance with the Rome Statute and with full independence and impartiality,” it added.
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