- Gicheru gave an interview to a loacal newspaper against the conditions
- Gicheru is accused of committing offences against the administration of justice by influencing witnesses.
Image: COURTESY
The International Criminal Court has reminded Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru of the tough conditions for his interim release from the court's detention after he spoke to the media.
Gicheru, accused of influencing witnesses in the case against Deputy President William Ruto, was released by the court on February 1 with several conditions.
One of the condition was that he “shall not, directly or through any other person, make any public statements, social media post, or communicate with the media about the merits of the case”.
However, on his return, Gicheru gave an interview to the Standard, in a bid to set the record straight that he did not surrender to the ICC to fix Ruto but to clear his own name.
“Owing to the nature of the matter, I was entirely a voluntary and personal decision in strict and exclusive consultation with my family without the participation of any third party. Any speculation on any third party involvement was entirely wrong and should be ignored,” the paper reported.
Gicheru is a prominent lawyer and chairman of the Export Processing Zone Authority.
There had been widespread speculations that the State could use Gicheru to revive the case against Ruto.
However, in a decision dated February 19, ICC judge handling the case reminded Gicheru of the conditions of his release.
Beninese judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou termed Gicheru's statements as "tangent to the current proceedings.”
“For these reasons, the Chamber hereby recalls the conditions set out in the Interim Release Decision and that they have to be adhered to at all times,” She warned.
The Chamber reminded Gicheru that the conditions set out in the Interim Release Decision have to be fulfilled by him at all times.
Other conditions for his release were that he shall provide financial security to the ICC Registrar in the form of cash or bank order to the value of Sh1 million, comply fully with all orders issued in the case and surrender himself immediately to the relevant authorities if required by the Chamber.
He was also to appear before the Chamber at the date, time, place, and in the manner ordered by the Chamber and shall remain in attendance until excused.
He was told not to obstruct or endanger the investigation or the court proceedings and shall not engage in any activities, directly or indirectly, that are prohibited under article 70 of the Statute;
Gicheru was prohibited from contacting, directly or indirectly, any of the prosecutor's witnesses or victims in the case, except through counsel authorised to represent him before the court and in accordance with the applicable protocols.
He was asked to reside in Kenya at a specific address for the duration of the proceedings when not present in the Netherlands for the purposes of court proceedings, unless otherwise authorised in advance by the Chamber;
He was further asked to provide the Registrar with copies of all passports, visas, identity documents, and any other travel documents issued to him; shall not travel internationally except to the extent permitted by the Chamber and shall inform the Registrar or his delegate, no later than seven days prior to any international travel.
The arrest warrant against Gicheru was issued under seal on 10 March 2015.
On November 2, 2020, Gicheru surrendered in The Netherlands and was surrendered to the ICC custody on 3 November 2020.
His first appearance before the ICC took place November 6, 2020.