By: Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The prosecution in the trial of Kenyan deputy president William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) called its first witness on Tuesday, a woman known only as Witness 536.
Witness 536 broke down during her testimony, describing an attack in January 2008 by a mob on a church in Kenya’s Rift Valley region. According to her, thousands of youths armed with machetes and sticks surrounded the church, which had become a place of refuge from attacks that were occurring in the area, and set the building on fire with people trapped inside. At least 28 people were killed in the incident, with some estimates putting the fatality count at 35.
The church was completely full of women and children from the Kikuyu ethnic group, she said. Members of the rival Kalenjin tribe approached from two sides, singing.
“They were painted with white clay…some had matches, axes and sticks…they were singing,” said the witness, describing the mob. “We were all trying to find a way to escape. I was carrying my small child with me. The church was set alight.”
The mob used bicycles to block a main exit, while other members of the mob guarded other exits to prevent escape.
“When somebody tried to leave the church, they would grab the person and push them back inside,” said the witness. “I went mad.”
In court documents, the prosecution also claims that others who tried to flee were hacked to death.
The court rules that Witness 536’s identity will be kept secret, for her own protection. She is testifying from behind a curtain, and her image is pixilated and voice distorted on the court video. Ruto, present in the courtroom, cannot see her.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has voiced complaints of interference and threats against witnesses. In addition to four witnesses who withdrew just before the trail, several more have withdrawn in recent days.
Bensouda announced that accusations of witnesses being bribed to withdraw their testimony are being investigated, warning of tough penalties.
Some witnesses say they were under family and community pressure, according to Kenyan media reports, as the trial is severely embarrassing for Kenya’s government.
Ruto and his co-defendant, radio executive Joshua Arap Sang, face charges of crimes against humanity in connection with their alleged in a swarm of ethnic violence that followed Kenya’s 2007 election, where more than 1,100 people were killed. For more on the charges and accusation, please read earlier reports from Impunity Watch.
For further information, please see:
ABC News – Kenya’s William Ruto trial: ‘Baying mob trapped hundreds’ in Kiambaa church fire massacre – 17 September 2013
BBC – Kenya’s William Ruto trial: ‘Church victim’ testifies at ICC – 17 September 2013
Los Angeles Times – First witness testifies in Hague trial of Kenya’s deputy president – 17 September 2013
Voice of America – First Witness Called in Ruto ICC Trial – 17 September 2013
