The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber has confirmed charges against Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru.
The Court has therefore committed Gicheru to trial.
According to the international court, the Chamber found that there are substantial grounds to believe that Gicheru committed, as a co-perpetrator, or under alternative modes of liability, offences against the administration of justice.
He is said to have committed the offences between April 2013 and the closure of the Ruto and Sang case on September 10, 2015, in Kenya.
According to the Court, the offences were allegedly committed in the furtherance of a common plan implemented by a group of persons including Gicheru, with the ultimate goal of undermining the Prosecution's case in the Ruto and Sang case.
Eight witnesses revealed that Gicheru, and other members of the common plan allegedly identified, located, and contacted the witnesses, offered and paid them financial or other benefits, and threatened them in order to induce them to withdraw as Prosecution witnesses.
However, the decision only serves to determine whether the Prosecutor's case should proceed to trial and does not establish the guilt of the accused person, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a trial chamber of the Court.
In cases concerning offences against the administration of justice (Article 70 of the Statute), pursuant to Rule 165(2) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence parties do not have the possibility to appeal a decision on the confirmation of the charges under Article 82(1)(d) of the Statute.
The arrest warrant against Gicheru and Philip Kipkoech Bett was issued on March 10, 2015, for offences against the administration of justice consisting of corruptly influencing witnesses of the Court.
Gicheru surrendered himself to the authorities of the Netherlands on November 2, 2020, and was surrendered to ICC custody the following day.
His first appearance before the ICC took place on November 6, 2020.
The Pre-Trial Chamber A severed the cases against Gicheru and Bett on December 11, 2020.
The confirmation of charges procedure was conducted in writing.
