The prosecution told International Criminal Court (ICC) judges it was unable to verify whether a police officer was shot in Nandi Hills after the December 2007 elections as a witness had stated a day earlier.

Senior trial lawyer Anton Steynberg, however, informed the court on Thursday that the detail was not key to the criminal charges it is pursuing against Deputy President William Samoei Ruto and former radio journalist Joshua arap Sang. Steynberg said that the prosecution did not intend to investigate the allegation further.

He spoke in response to a defense assertion that the chief police officer of Nandi Hills was not shot as Witness 128 had claimed in the previous day’s hearing. David Hooper, one of Ruto’s lawyers, said this raised questions about the veracity of Witness 128’s testimony. Presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said the judges had noted the defense’s concern.

Hooper then began the cross-examination of Witness 128, asking him to identify various locations in the Nandi Hills area on different maps as well as in photos. He also asked Witness 128 whether he knew who were the members of parliament for the Aldai and Tinderet constituencies before and after the December 2007 elections. The constituencies are located in Nandi District. In addition, Hooper asked the witness about his work as a political agent during the December 2007 elections.

Most of the day’s hearing was in private session. This means that much of what was heard in public was general information.

Witness 128 will continue testifying on Friday.