The witness, only identified as number 326, told the court that Deputy President William Ruto, then a member of the Pentagon, ODM’s top organ, electrified the electorate in the Rift Valley by promising to resettle squatters if the party won.
The witness, whose face was concealed and voice scrambled to protect his identity, said: “He (Ruto) said let the people of Rift Valley vote for ODM because ODM is the party that is going to deliver true leadership and solve problems people have had for a long time.” “More so for the landless people. The era of the hyenas is over,” he quoted Ruto as saying at an ODM rally in Kitale.
As the public speculated about what the witness would reveal, investigations by The Standard established that three ODM officials had disowned his testimony.
Sources said two of the three party officials had written to the ICC disapproving of the witness, but a third senior member had declined a request to write to the court.
On Monday, the witness said ODM centred its campaign during the hotly contested polls on resolving unequal distribution of resources in the country as well as historical land injustices.
Referring to the last rally that was held by the Orange party at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park grounds days to the election, the witness claims Ruto told the gathering that the time for those who had grabbed resources was up.
However, he maintained that the promise to sort out the historical land injustice in the Rift Valley was made by various leaders including then ODM presidential flag-bearer Raila Odinga.
“The party flag-bearer Raila also talked about the issue of land and even some of the aspirants. It was the centre of ODM policy,” he observed.
The witness said Ruto as a senior official of Pentagon was in charge of co-ordinating and delivering the Rift Valley votes to ODM and worked closely with ODM chairman Henry Kosgey.
Cross examination
“Rift Valley was left for one of the Pentagon members called Mr Ruto, but he was assisted by people on the ground,” the witness told prosecution lawyer Ade Omofade, during cross examination. “Luckily, the chairman of the party also came from the Rift Valley,” he added.
The witness said the Orange party campaigned on the platform of devolution of power and resources.
Earlier, he recalled how the ODM party was formed after the 2005 constitutional referendum, laying out clearly the party structure.
“According to the ODM policy and manifesto, ODM was going to deliver on devolved government and devolved resources,” the witness recalled. He termed Ruto as a key leader in ODM in the Rift Valley during the run-up to the 2007 polls.
“Mr Ruto was a key leader in the Rift Valley. Najib Balala led the Coast region, Joseph Nyagah was representing Upper Eastern, Musalia Mudavadi Western and Madam Charity Ngilu Eastern,” he told Trial Chamber V judges.
He said Raila, who was later nominated as the presidential candidate, was the leader of the party.
He maintained that the former Prime Minister, Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Ngong’o, and nominated Senator Janet Ong’era were instrumental in the formation of the party.
At the time of party formation, he said, Ruto was still a member of Kanu but was also allied to ODM, having been on the ‘NO’ side during the referendum.
“Mr Ruto became officially in ODM after the electoral commission announced the party nominations,” he said.
Historical tensions
According to Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Ruto, as the “anointed” leader of the Kalenjin community, enlisted political collaborators, former military men, elders and the media to put together a “network” to commit the crimes for which he is before the ICC.
The prosecution says the Kalenjin, who are the majority in the Rift Valley, had perceived the Kikuyu minority as “unwelcome settlers who had misappropriated their ancestral land”.
She claimed that Ruto and his syndicate of powerful allies, including Sang, sought to exploit these historical tensions between the Kalenjin and the Kikuyu for their own political and personal ends.
Earlier, the witness described the acrimonious fallout between former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila, recalling that Mr Daniel Maanzo, now Makueni MP, colluded to eject Raila and his team from ODM Kenya.
“Daniel Maanzo conversed with Mr Kalonzo Musyoka and ran away with the party. So they left the Raila team with no party,” he said.
- The Standard
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