Ruto and Sang case: Trial to open on 10 September 2013

Situation: Kenya 
Case: The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang

Today, 3 June 2013, the Trial Chamber V(a) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to set the opening of the trial in the case against William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang on 10 September 2013 in order to allow the Defence sufficient time to carry out its preparation.

On 6 May 2013, Trial Chamber V had decided to vacate the date of the trial’s start, scheduled on 28 May 2013, indicating that a new trial date would be set in due course. The Chamber held a hearing on 14 May 2013, in the presence of the two accused, to discuss procedural matters and other issues including the Prosecutor’s request to add six witnesses to the list of witnesses and the Defence’s request to vacate the trial date to adequately prepare its case. After reviewing the parties and participants’ observations, the Chamber, composed of Judges Chile Eboe-Osuji (Presiding), Olga Herrera Carbuccia and Robert Fremr, authorised the Prosecutor to add two persons to her list of witnesses for this case and set the new date of the trial’s opening accordingly.

The ICC is a permanent international court whose primary purpose is to help to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, thus contributing to the prevention of such crimes. 

For information on the case The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, please click here.

Decision on prosecution requests to add witnesses and evidence and defence requests to reschedule the trial start date