Saturday, the 27th of April 2013 - News just in indicates that ICC Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert has today withdrawn herself from hearing the cases facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto at the Hague.
In a statement explaining her reasons for withdrawing from the case Judge Wyngaert questioned how thoroughly the ICC Prosecutor had prepared for the cases before bringing charges against the accused;
“There are serious questions as to whether the prosecution conducted a full and thorough investigation of the case against the accused prior to confirmation. I believe that the facts show that the prosecution had not complied with its obligations at the time when it sought confirmation and that it was still not even remotely ready when the proceedings before this Chamber started,” read the statement.
Judge Wyngaert also agreed with Uhuru that the Prosecutor had employed sneaky tactics in introducing witnesses and documentary evidence into the case;
“I stress the concerns expressed in the decision about the overwhelming number of post confirmation witnesses and the quantity of post-confirmation documentary evidence, as well as the very late disclosure of the latter.”
Judge Wyngaert pointedly stated that the office of the Presecutor had not justified why so many witnesses were introduced post-confirmation;
“The Prosecution offers no cogent and sufficiently specific justification for why so many witnesses in this case were only interviewed for the first time post-confirmation. The mere invocation by the Prosecution of generic problems with the security situation in Kenya, without explaining how this situation affected each of the individuals involved, does not adequately justify the extent and tardiness of the post-confirmation investigation.”
Judge Wyngaert however said that she agreed with the other two judges that charges against Uhuru and Ruto should still stand, whatever the failures of the office of the Prosecutor.
Judge Wyngaert will be replaced by Judge Robert Fremr.
The Kenyan DAILY POST