Meshack Yebei and Yusuf Hussein kin await DNA test on body

Ben Yebei, an elder brother to Meshack, the alleged International Criminal Court witness. (Photo:File/Standard)

This will be an important week for the families of Meshack Yebei and Yusuf Hussein as DNA results to determine the identity of a body lying at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary in Eldoret is concluded.

Mystery has ensued with the families, with one from Kaptebee in Uasin Gishu County constantly maintaining that the body belongs to Yebei while the other from Chepsonoi in Nandi claiming it is Yusuf's.

Ben Yebei, an elder brother to Meshack, the alleged International Criminal Court witness who has been missing, said they want the results out as soon as possible for the truth to be known.

"We want the CID team to expedite the investigation because the mystery has brought anxiety and torment to our family. We are still insisting that the body is that of Meshack," he said.

Yebei's family after seeing the body initially set the burial for last weekend, but were forced to suspend the ceremony after detectives claimed that fingerprints taken from the body belonged to Hussein.

Saum Hussein, Yusuf's wife, who spoke to The Standard on telephone said their hopes were pegged on the team investigating the matter.

"We are supposed to meet the CID officers tomorrow (Monday) so that they can give us further directives on the expected DNA results," she said.

She maintained that the body that was retrieved from river Yala belongs to Yusuf, her husband, a matatu tout who went missing in December.

Human Rights Activists in Eldoret have called for the immediate arrest of International Criminal Court (ICC) officials in Uganda who they want compelled to record a statement with the police over the disappearance of Yebei.

They also asked the investigators to probe ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for her alleged role in the operations of the Ugandan office.

The activists claimed that Yebei's "shift from a prosecution witness to defence witness might be the reason why he was either 'silenced' or is being held incommunicado by ICC to prevent him from testifying".

Led by Jonah Ruto, they urged ICC to reveal if Patrick and Lugusa worked for the court. The two were mentioned in a text message allegedly sent by Yebei to his mother and friend confirming that he was safe and in Uganda.

The activists said ICC should reveal who Yebei was after the prosecution termed him a rogue witness who attempted to bribe other witnesses to stop them from testifying.