Deputy President William Ruto jets back from The Hague

Deputy President William Ruto jetted back into the country on Thursday morning from The Hague, Netherlands where he attended his trial before the International Criminal Court.

Ruto arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly after 6am and was accompanied by his wife Rachel.

He left the country on Monday to attend the trial against him and radio presenter Joshua Sang but the case was adjourned Wednesday because the prosecution could not get her first witness in time.

Ruto was received at JKIA by Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi, Centre for Multiparty Democracy chairman Omingo Magara, Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Linet Kemunto among other leaders.

Seeking adjournment in the case, Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the unidentified witness was travelling from an undisclosed location elsewhere in Europe and was expected to arrive at The Hague on Thursday.

The adjournment on just the second day of the highly-anticipated trial came at the end of a hard-hitting opening statement from Mr Sang’s lawyer Katwa Kigen, who adopted Mr Ruto’s stance in calling on the prosecution to abandon the case early for lack of evidence.

Picking up from where Mr Ruto’s lawyer Karim Khan had concluded the previous day, Mr Kigen dwelt in detail on what he charged were major gaps in the prosecution case for which the only remedy was withdrawal of the charges before any more time was wasted.

Monday is a public holiday in the Netherlands so the court will reconvene next Tuesday.

Mchimba Riziki Source (Daily nation) Kenya