Kenyan Lawyer Paul Gicheru Moved to the ICC Detention Center

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday established a pre-trial chamber to hear the case against Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru.

Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, a national of Benin, has been appointed to hear the case.

This comes a day after Gicheru surrendered to authorities in The Netherlands, five years after the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against him over claims of interfering with prosecution witnesses.

He is suspected of offenses against the administration of justice consisting of corruptly influencing witnesses of the court.

Gicheru is said to have bribed or attempted to bribe six prosecution witnesses by offering them between Sh500,000 and Sh5 million each so that they could recant their evidence and withdraw as witnesses. Bribery of witnesses is an offense under Article 70 of the Rome Statute.

The Office of the ICC Prosecutor told The Star that Gicheru voluntarily presented himself to The Hague.

“The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court welcomes Paul Gicheru’s voluntary surrender to the authorities of The Netherlands,” the office said.

On Tuesday, Gicheru was transferred to the ICC detention center following the completion of the necessary national arrest proceedings.  

Gicheru is soon expected to make his first court appearance where the Pre-Trial Chamber will confirm his identity, ensures that the suspect understands the charges, confirm the language in which the proceedings should be conducted, and set a date to begin the confirmation of charges hearing.

The ICC issued a warrant of arrest against Gicheru and another Kenyan, Philip Kipkoech Bett, on March 10th, 2015. 

The two are accused of tampering with prosecution witnesses, which led to the collapse of cases against Deputy President William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Arap Sang.

Gicheru surrendered to the ICC despite the High Court in Nairobi dismissing an application to have him extradited to The Netherlands to face charges.

In a ruling in 2017, High Court Judge Justice Luka Kimaru said the application to surrender the lawyer to the international court failed to meet certain international conditions.

"The application filed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on May 28, 2015, lacks merit and cannot stand," the judge said.

Justice Kimaru further lifted the arrest warrant placed on Gicheru.