Ocampo seeks tough new conditions for ICC suspects

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has requested the Pre-Trial Chamber to impose tough new conditions against three of the Ocampo Six.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo urged the ICC judges to impose four tough conditions against Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and Postmaster General Hussein Ali and guarantee their compliance.

The ICC prosecutor wants the three suspects to "appear in person before the Chamber at least once in every six months and certify before the Chamber, under oath, that they have complied in full with all the conditions," reads the application.

He also wants them to submit complete financial information, provide the Chamber with all residential and office addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers and desist from making any public statements that contain or can be construed as containing an open or veiled threat to actual or prospective witnesses or victims.

In his request, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he sought the new conditions to ensure that Mr Kenyatta, Mr Muthaura and Major General Ali should not obstruct or endanger his investigation.

"The Prosecution shares the Chamber’s resolve that, if the suspects remain free pending confirmation, adequate conditions should be imposed to guarantee that they continue to appear voluntarily and that they not obstruct or endanger the investigation or the Court’s proceedings," he said in his submissions.

He seeks the court's indulgence to order that each "suspect forbears from making any public statements about the case, the charges, the investigation, or the evidence against them".

Mr Moreno-Ocampo argues since the three are in a position of influence their remarks may be construed as putting pressure on witnesses to cease cooperating with the court.

"Due to their senior positions of authority in Kenya, any statements that the suspects may make concerning the violence or their cooperation with the Court could, intentionally or unintentionally, be regarded by actual or potential witnesses as pressure to cease cooperation with the Court, or impact future witnesses’ willingness or desire to cooperate," he says.

He also wants the suspects to appear before the court once every six months and sign an oath affirming their readiness to comply with all conditions, failing this they would risk arrest.

"If the Chamber discovers that a suspect did not comply in full within a timeframe set by the Chamber and/or made a false statement of compliance either in person or in a written statement, the Chamber shall issue a warrant and revoke the conditions of his release," he pleads.

On submitting their financial statement, Mr Moreno-Ocampo seeks the suspects to do so "under oath, to enable the Chamber to determine the appropriate bond and to ensure its enforceability; and that he then post bond or provide real or personal security or surety in an amount sufficient to guarantee his future appearance at all required hearings of the Court".

He also wants Mr Kenyatta, Mr Muthaura and Major general Ali to "provide the Chamber with all residential and office addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers. Each suspect shall verify in a signed statement, under oath, the accuracy of this information (to the Registry) on a monthly basis".

"Any misstatement in a report, or any failure to provide timely, accurate, and complete information shall result in the issuance of a warrant and revocation of the conditions of the suspect’s release," reads his request.

When issuing the summonses to appear in march, the ICC judges determined that the arrest of the Ocampo Six was not necessary as long as they complied with certain restrictions.

These were: That the suspects shall have no contact directly or indirectly with any person who is or is believed to be a victim or a witness of the crimes; that they shall refrain from corruptly influencing a witness or tampering with or interfering with the Prosecutor s collection of evidence.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo's request comes on the day when a section of the Ocampo Six, thought to bear the greatest responsibility for the violence that left 1,133 dead and 650,000 displaced from their homes, flied out to The Hague to make their initial appearance.

Mr Muthaura left Wednesday morning while Mr Kenyatta was expected to depart for The Hague at around 8pm.

Three of the suspects, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, his Tinderet counterpart Henry Kosgey and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang left Tuesday night.

Major General Ali arrived in the Dutch city Tuesday evening for his date with the ICC on Friday at 4.30 pm, local time. Mr Kenyatta and Mr Muthaura are also slotted to appear at that hour.

Mr Ruto, Mr Kosgey and Mr Sang will appear before the Pre-Trial Chamber on Thursday 11.30 am.