- Ruto was never acquitted at the ICC but the charges were withdrawn after witnesses withdrew.
- Then Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the charges could be revived if new evidence emerged.
Image: HANDOUT
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is under fire from the Kenyan opposition over his alleged dalliance with his former client, President William Ruto.
Khan, a British lawyer, represented Ruto at the Hague before he was elected as the Prosecutor of the Hague-based court in February 2021.
Azimio has now petitioned the ICC to have Khan probed over alleged misconduct for traveling to Kenya to receive an honorary degree from Mount Kenya University.
Azimio claims Khan's conduct amounts to a conflict of interest as the University founder Simon Gicharu is a close Ruto associate.
At a public event in Bondo last week, Raila claimed that Khan met Ruto at State House.
"The prosecutor of ICC was here treated by Ruto in State House. Given a chopper to go and receive an honorary degree for fighting for human rights. And there he was again being received by another agent of Ruto," Raila alleged.
Ruto was never acquitted at the ICC but the charges were withdrawn after witnesses withdrew.
Then Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the charges could be revived if new evidence emerged.
Through lawyer Paul Mwangi, Azimio listed four “matters of concern” which it says amount to a serious conflict of interest with the situation in the country.
In a letter to the head of the Independent Oversight Mechanism, Mwangi said Khan has failed to officially disengage from all matters relating to Kenya casting doubts on whether they will get justice from the court.
“Until August 8, 2023, as will be narrated later in this petition, there has been no official recusal of Mr Khan from the four pending matters stated above [Kenyan cases at the ICC] nor any known application on his part to the Presidency of The Court to be excused from the situation in Kenya as is contemplated by Article 42(6) of The Rome Statutes,” Mwangi said.
Azimio had on April 14 written to the court to open an investigation into police killings following chaotic protests that rocked the country.
"Azimio submitted a petition seeking the preliminary examination and evaluation of the situation in Kenya. The petition was acknowledged but no further communication has been received," Mwangi lamented
"Pictorial evidence of Prof Gicharu receiving Mr Khan to the varsity suggests that he (Gicharu) was a connection point between Khan and the institution thus making his dealings with the university not at arms-length.”
Before getting the job, Khan faced a barrage of accusations from African civil society mainly from Kenya.
The civil society players argued that Ruto's case was declared a mistrial and could be resuscitated should relevant evidence emerge.
Furthermore, they argue, the case against lawyer Paul Gicheru (now decease) and Walter Barasa for witness tampering in the Ruto case could compel Khan to recuse himself from the case if elected prosecutions boss.
“This case is extremely important for the ICC in terms of setting a precedent for those who attempt to bribe or interfere with witnesses. Mr Khan, if elected as ICC Prosecutor, would have to recuse himself from this important case as well as any future trial proceedings in the Ruto & [Joshua] Sang case,” they said.
The mysterious death of Meshack Yebei, a key defence witness, was also one of the grounds the civil society groups raised in opposing Khan's candidature.
“When the mutilated and tortured body of Mr Yebei was indeed found in March 2015, Mr Khan remained silent on the matter and appeared to have dropped his public demands for an investigation,' the rights groups said.
"Mr Yebei’s family has asked why Mr Khan did not raise the alarm when Mr Yebei first disappeared."