The lawyer representing victims of the 2007-08 post-election violence at The Hague, Fergal Gaynor wants President Uhuru Kenyatta warned of possible arrest for allegedly obstructing access to Justice.
But on his part, Uhuru's lead lawyer Steven Kay told the judges that they should now make a final decision on the case, including terminating it.
Gaynor told ICC Judges that Uhuru's failure to ensure the government cooperates with the court amounts to intentionally interfering with the collection of evidence, which entails individual criminal responsibility.
He urged the Judges to adjourn the case as requested by the prosecution and refer Kenya to the Assembly of State Parties if the government declines to bulge.
“The accused’s failure to enable access to relevant evidence is a breach of the summons conditions in this case,” Gaynor said yesterday.
Kay said it is now clear that the prosecution has failed in its responsibility to conduct investigations and this burden should not be placed on the defence.
"The Defence submits that the Chamber is now in a position to make a final decision on the charges. In this regard, the Defence refers the Chamber to its previous submissions on this issue," Kay said.
In the previous submissions,Kay told the court that Bensouda was just stalling and had no case having admitted that she has no evidence to sustain the case.
"The Prosecution seeks to have the proceedings, against a man in respect of whom it has no credible case, adjourned sine die (indefinitely), even though the cause of the charges is known to be false," Kay said in yesterday's filing.
Kay also dismissed Gaynor's submissions accusing him of making "grave and unfounded" accusations against Uhuru adding that this demonstrates his fundamental lack of understanding of the evidence in the case.
"The Victims’ Representative’s unfair and potentially harmful public comments and accusations are unacceptable and do not properly represent the best interests of the victims," Kay said.
In his filing, Gaynor also told the court that terminating the case would be a rich reward for an accused who he claimed continues to employ the resources of the Government which he controls in order to frustrate the Trial Chamber’s search for the truth.
Gaynor noted that Uhuru has not appeared at the ICC Courtroom for a record three years, arguing that he has used the freedom given to him for what he termed as gross scandalous insults towards the Court.
"The freedom and flexibility afforded to him, a person accused of crimes against humanity, is unprecedented in the history of international criminal justice," Gaynor said.
Giving example of the destruction of the drug laden ship in Mombasa, Gaynor told the Judges that Uhuru is a powerful man in Kenya who violates even Court orders within the country.
The Star
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