ICC lawyer Karim Khan has written to Kenya’s police force seeking an investigation into the death of a witness, whose body was discovered in Nandi County last week.
Khan wants the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to conduct the investigation to establish the circumstances under which the man, a defence witness in Deputy President William Ruto’s case, was killed.
Hours after Khan wrote the letter, Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko also called for a “speedy and thorough investigation” into the man’s death. He wants the CID to submit the investigation file once they are through with the probe for perusal and further directions.
The witness, identified as Meshack Yebei, had gone missing from his home in Turbo before his body was discovered in Kapsabet last week, according to his family who believed he had gone to neighbouring Uganda.
It is understood that the man had made public death threats prior to his disappearance and subsequent death under mysterious circumstances, although it remains unclear if he had already testified in the trial that has been ongoing in The Hague since last year.
“We request that you deploy all the resources at your disposal to prioritise the investigation and circumstances of his alleged abduction and murder,” Khan states in a letter addressed to CID Director Ndegwa Muhoro. Khan also wants the police to conduct a DNA test on the body to confirm that it is indeed that of Yebei.
“In the event the DNA tests confirm that the body recovered is indeed that of Meshack Yebei, we request that you deploy all the resources at your disposal to prioritise the investigation and circumstances of his alleged abduction and murder,” Khan stressed in the confidential letter dated January 5.
As part of the investigations, police are seeking to establish the sender of a text message received by the mother of the deceased, explaining that Yebei was in Uganda. The text message, sent from a Ugandan-registered mobile telephone number, was written in Yebei’s native Kalenjin language.
