The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Photograph by Vincent van Zeijst
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking the arrest of Kenyan journalist Walter Osapiri Barasa for “corruptly influencing” witnesses at the trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto.
Ruto is on trial for alleged crimes against humanity in the bloody aftermath of Kenya’s 2007 disputed elections where he is accused of orchestrating some of the violence. Ruto denies the charges.
Ruto’s case was adjourned so that he could travel back to Kenya in the wake of the recent terror attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, but his trial resumed today.
The warrant for the arrest of Barasa is the first that the ICC has ever issued, with the judge claiming that Barasa was “acting in furtherance of a criminal scheme devised by a circle of officials within the Kenyan administration”.
Barasa has reportedly told the BBC that he was ready to prove his innocence over the allegations of witness tampering.
