Gicheru ICC trial: Witness says he was given Ksh.500K to withdraw from 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.
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