CJ holds key to survival of Truth commission

Chief Justice Evan Gicheru holds the key to the survival of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in a make-or-break week for the eight-member team.

The April 19 resignation of one-time vice -hair Betty Murungi rocked the team, leading minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Mutula Kilonzo to call for its disbanding. Mrs Murungi had earlier resigned as vice-chair but stayed on as a member.

The CJ is seen as the potential saviour of the commission because by appointing a tribunal to probe chairman Bethwel Kiplagat, he can save the entire team from being disbanded. But time is not on TJRC commissioners’ side.

A joint meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Legal Affairs and Public Accounts Committee is scheduled for Wednesday to decide the fate of the TJRC. The two committees met April 22 but did not reach any decision on whether to disband the entire commission or prevail upon the embattled TJRC chairman to quit.

When the members of the two committees convened at Parliament, they were confronted with three scenarios: prevail upon Mr Kiplagat to quit as chairman and commissioner; trigger the provisions of the TJRC Act and call for a tribunal; and recommend that Parliament amend the TJRC Act and disband it altogether.

A member who attended the meeting said the least expensive option available to the government was to prevail upon Kiplagat to resign. “This would give Parliament an opportunity to nominate two commissioners and the election of a new chairman,” a source, who cannot be quoted as it would antagonise his parliamentary colleagues, said.

But Mr Kiplagat is unlikely to quit after he changed his mind overnight despite having signed a letter in which he voluntarily agreed to step aside. Sources at Delta House, where the commission is based, indicate that the TJRC chairman changed his mind after he was prevailed upon by a minister from Eastern Province not to honour the agreement with fellow commissioners.

The commissioners, who had prepared a statement to read to the media, were shocked when Mr Kiplagat declined to quit. He insisted that the only option available to him was to go through a tribunal. Determined commissioners then formally submitted a legal petition to the CJ requesting that a tribunal be established to inquire into whether Mr Kiplagat should be removed pursuant Section 17 of the TJRC Act.

The petition mentioned Mr Kiplagat’s illegal or irregular acquisition of land, his name featuring in investigations on the assassination of Foreign Affairs minister Dr Robert Ouko and the 1984 Wagalla massacre in Wajir.

But many members at the commission are wondering why Mr Kiplagat is determined to destroy the entire body by hanging on. They are also disturbed by the determination by the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs to have the entire commission disbanded.

Should the CJ fail to act by Wednesday, and Mr Kiplagat continues to cling to his position, then the government may have to start shopping for an estimated Sh200 million for the commissioners’ compensation. If the two committees settle on disbanding the commission, then they will recommend that Parliament amend the Act. Since Parliament is on recess till next month, the commission may be wound up in June, the source added.