ICC drops case against deceased Kenyan lawyer

The International Criminal Court said on Friday it was dropping a case of witness tampering against a Kenyan lawyer following reports of his death last month.

Paul Gicheru had been accused by ICC prosecutors of running an “egregious and damaging” witness tampering scheme that made it impossible to pursue allegations against President William Ruto over post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008.

“Today Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court terminated proceedings against former Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru following the confirmation of his passing,” the ICC said in a statement.

“According to the ICC legal framework, the Court’s jurisdiction cannot be exercised over a deceased person,” it said.

Gicheru’s trial opened in February this year. Prosecutors alleged he paid bribes of up to one million Kenyan shillings ($8,300) and threatened the safety of ICC witnesses, one of them at gunpoint.

Gicheru had denied the allegations throughout, pleading not guilty at The Hague-based court, which is the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal.

Kenyan police said they were probing Gicheru’s death, which apparently occurred after he had a meal with his family almost three weeks ago.

His son had been taken to hospital complaining of stomach pains following their meal together, police said.

The disputed 2007 vote in Kenya was followed by the worst post-electoral violence in the country’s history and left 1,100 people dead.

Gicheru had “managed and coordinated a scheme to identify, locate and corruptly influence” witnesses throughout the ICC trial of Ruto and co-defendant Joshua Sang, which collapsed in 2016, prosecutors said at the time.