KENYAN LAWYER WHO SURRENDERED TO ICC, FOUND DEAD AT HOME
NAIROBI - Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru, who surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, has been found dead in his house.
Gicheru’s family and police confirmed to the media his death, with the lawyer said to have breathed his last at around 19 hours.
The lawyer was found unresponsive in his house in the leafy suburbs of Karen in Nairobi after taking a meal away from his house on Monday and police are investigating the cause of his mysterious sudden death.
According to a police report filed at Karen Police Station under OB number 54, the advocate was found foaming at the mouth in a suspected case of poisoning, with his son, Allan Njoroge, also said to have been hospitalised.
Gicheru was on trial at the ICC for alleged witness bribery and tampering in the Kenyan case that stalled at the ICC related to the 2007-2008 post-election violence.
Gicheru surrendered to the ICC authorities in Netherlands on November 2, 2020 based on an arrest warrant that had been issued by Pre-Trial Chamber II of the Hague-based court.
In July 2022, his defence before Trial Chamber II Judge Maria Samba came to a close with the lawyer asserting that he was innocent of the charges preferred against him by the court.
“Trial Chamber III will deliberate on the proceedings and, within a reasonable period, pronounce its decision on conviction or acquittal, pursuant to Article 74 of the Rome Statute.
The Chamber bases its decision only on the applicable law and on evidence submitted and discussed before it at the trial,” read the court statement on conclusion of the trial.
Lawyer Paul Gicheru was charged with eight counts of offences against the administration of justice at the International Criminal Court but he denied all the charges