BY FELIX OLICK

The Hague: Deputy President William Ruto has filed a fresh request at the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber seeking to be excused from attending his trial at The Hague, Netherlands.

 Ruto points to the one-week adjournment following the bloody Westgate attack arguing that such breaks would result in “delays in proceedings or interruptions of witness testimony”.

 The new filing was made on Monday evening, the same day President Uhuru Kenyatta also formally requested Trial Chamber V (b) to excuse him from physical attendance when his trials kick off on November 12.

New role

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Citing his new role as Head of State, Kenyatta said that he should be allowed to be present only during the opening and closing of the trial as well as on judgment day.

 “In respect of all other hearings at which Trial Chamber V (b) requires the presence of the accused, or at which President Kenyatta requests to be present, the defence requests that  such presence is fulfilled by way of video-link,” his defence lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins submitted.

A similar request by Ruto was granted by the Trial Chamber but was later suspended by the Appeals Chamber following an appeal by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

 The Appeals Chamber ruled that Ruto should be present at all times during his trial pending the outcome of Bensouda’s appeal.

In her appeal, the prosecutor cited Article 63 of the Rome Statute, which she insisted does not permit an accused to be absent during his trial.

She also submitted that Ruto’s absence could significantly affect the fairness of the proceedings.

But Ruto’s defence team now argues that according to the court’s jurisprudence, reconsideration of a decision may be appropriate where the applying party shows new facts or circumstances that may influence that decision.

Significant change

On his part, Kenyatta says that his election as President constitute a significant change that necessitates fresh consideration of his physical attendance of trial “particularly in light of his extraordinary and exceptional roles and responsibilities as an incumbent Head of State”.