The dilemma of TJRC Report

On July 4, 2011 Japanese Minister for Disaster Construction Ryu Matsumoto resigned for making the following statements:

“We will try to help those places that come up with ideas to help themselves, but not those that don’t.” 

He made these statements in a region that lost 22,500 lives following earthquake, tsunami and subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Mr. Matsumoto, who assumed the post a week earlier, angered local governors by confessing his ignorance of local geography, and then showing irritation when one local governor made him wait in a reception room. That occurrence is unthinkable in Kenya where helpless wainianchi are mocked for ‘tunaomba serikali’ -pleading with the government for intervention whenever disaster strikes.

But Kenya is not prone to natural disasters. Most grey sports in the history of our country have been (and still are) actions of fellow countrymen/women in positions of authority to whom public trust is bestowed. We have given them a definite judicial term: historical injustices. For that term alone, the grand coalition government set up Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) five years ago.

TJRC Chair Amb. Bethwel Kiplagat handing over the report to President Kenyatta

The Commission finalized it work and handed over the report to President Kenyatta yesterday. TJRC is one of the three commissions of inquiry formed after the 2007/8 post poll chaos that claimed over 1,133 Kenyan lives and fashioned in the likeness of South African TJRC at the end of white minority rule in 1994. Its formation was informed by the findings and recommendations of Justice Kriegler’s Independent Review Commission (IREC) which held that historical injustices largely contributed to the post-election violence and ought to be addressed to ensure lasting peace and stability.

Still on the IREC recommendations, Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Elections Violence (CIPEV) was constituted to establish the causes of PEV and bring to book those who bore the greatest responsibility. The findings of CIPEV were documented in Waki Report and a sealed envelope containing the names of persons whose actions contributed to the chaos was handed over to the chair of Africa Eminent Persons, Dr.Kofi Annan, who later vouchsafed the envelope to former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.

From the onset, TJRC suffered a lot of internal setback pitting the chair, Amb. Bethwel kiplagat, and his vice, Ms Betty Murungi, over the former’s fitness to lead the commission with allegations of roles he played in both Wagalla Massacre and the death of former Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Robert Ouko. Amb. Kiplagat stepped aside as the chair (and not commissioner) before both the high court and a special tribunal cleared him.

A part from the norm that most reports gather dust in government cabinets without decisive actions, the dilemma of TJRC Report lies in the fact that it mentions those who have the authority to implement it as well as one of its drafters. Kenyans now doubt the impartiality of the report given that the TJRC chair is mentioned in both Dr. Ouko Murder and Wagalla Massacre whereas President Kibaki who formed the commission was in power when the chaos erupted and was most likely inclined towards a partisan commission, according to public opinion. The report therefore does not enjoy public support.

 On the same note, President Uhuru Kenyatta who received the report and his deputy are adversely mentioned citing roles they played during PEV, which has since seen the duo facing crimes against humanity charges at the ICC. But the woes of Mr Kenyatta are more because the report also implicates his father, the founding father of the nation, for having fraudulently acquired larger percentage of former white highlands immediately after independence. As such, Kenyans would be wondering whether Mr Kenyatta has the moral capacity to implement the TJRC report fully.

President Uhuru kenyatta (right) at the ICC

The greatest challenge to the implementation of TJRC report is that those who allegedly perpetrated historical injustices and their kin are still holding powerful positions in government and may thwart every effort to redress the wrongs, even with effective separation of powers in all the three arms of government. According to the report, a total of thirty two former and current politicians are culpable –some of whom are members of the National Assembly. To corroborate this argument, over five politicians including Kitui Senator Hon David Musila are in the process of suing TJRC for naming them in the report.

If Kenya was Japan, all those implicated would voluntarily cease to hold public offices and offer profuse apologies to the people of Kenya. However, the law holds the accused persons innocent until proven guilty!

Shem Sam