Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru, who was facing charges of witness interference at the International Criminal Court (ICC), has died, his family and the police have confirmed to local media.
The police said Mr Gicheru was found dead at his home in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday night.
Mr Gicheru was accused of bribing witnesses that were to testify against William Ruto – who is now president – over Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
He denied the allegations.
The lawyer had surrendered himself to the court in November 2020, five years after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him.
Prosecutors said the allegations against him undermined the case Mr Ruto faced at the court.
Mr Ruto was accused of murder, deportation and persecution charges during Kenya’s post-election violence – accusations that he has always denied.
The ICC terminated the case against him citing lack of evidence.
A Kenyan rights body asked the police to “conduct swift and conclusive investigations” into the death even as “details are still emerging”. [BBC]