‘Government Blogger’ Weighs In On the ICC Witness Identity Leak
This morning, we woke up to the news that Citizen TV’s Willis Raburu had disclosed the identity of one of the key witnesses in the ICC case against Deputy President William Ruto and his co-accused, Joshua Arap Sang.
The raging debate about the identity of the witness on Kenya’s blogosphere allegedly made the Hague-based court to opt for closed door sessions. This has prompted the ‘government blogger’, Dennis Itumbi to respond. Here’s what he says;
1. The Ruling that was shared online by the lawyers who were handling the 2009 case is a matter of public record and immediately she mentioned one of the accused the rest was done by Google
2. When Ocampo came to Kenya, I personally asked him in a Press Conference, to assure Kenya and witnesses of their safety and his reply, “we have the best system of witness protection in the world and beyond the witnesses we have videos, audios and irrefutable evidence that will prove that the suspects committed the crimes. (That system is being threatened/ affected by Social Media?)
3. So far what I have seen on Social media is people suggesting that witness 536 could be so and so, is ICC confirming that the identity of the witness is the same one that has been revealed online?
4. There is case that has been dubbed Grand Trial – lets stick to it and avoid any side shows, It would be important to finish the evidence in chief, because most of us are waiting for Cross Examination
5. Kenyan Social Media is very active and has in some rankings been ranked Number 2 after USA – I personally believe we are the top users. As long as the case is on, ICC should expect robust discussions and feedback from Kenyans using this space
6. We respect the institution of the court at ICC and we respect the provisions of Free speech and Fair Comment as enshrined in our constitution
I speak not for Kenyan Social Media, I however express the position of many who use this space to express themselves on different issues…We are Kenyans on Social Media ..God Bless Kenyan Social Media Users
