THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WITNESSES WERE PAID IN RUTO’S ICC CASE

The trial of lawyer Paul Gicheru entered the third week as the fourth prosecution witness took the stand to testify against Gicheru whom he claimed had bribed him to withdraw his testimony.

The witness said he was offered Ksh.500,000 to recant his testimony to the prosecutors.

The defense however took on the witness questioning his credibility claiming he took up the offer to be a witness to get a better life under the Witness Protection Programme.

This as the trial of lawyer Gicheru, who is accused of witness tampering and intimidation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague progressed as the fourth prosecution witness narrated his part of the story.

The witness said he had feared for his life after unnamed people back home disclosed that he was an ICC witness.

The witness claimed he had been approached by Gicheru and offered Ksh.500,000 to recant his testimony with a promise that more monies would be availed if he convinced more witnesses to withdraw from the Ruto-Sang case.

“He told me that I was going to receive Ksh.500,000 if I stopped giving statements in the Ruto case, and I will receive more if I bring other witnesses that I know of,” he said.

He however claimed that after being told to meet an unnamed individual at a certain location, he developed cold feet and feared that he could be lured and harmed, he opted to skip the meeting.

The defense however cast doubt on the credibility of the witnesses presented taking on the fourth witness accusing him of seeking to monetize the witness protection programme.

Defense lawyer Michael Karnavas will continue the cross examination on Tuesday.

Courtesy