Kenya's search for truth, justice gains ground

Kenya’s journey to truth and justice is on course despite the commission set up to investigate historical injustices facing a crisis of leadership.

On Thursday, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission officially launched the national statement taking exercise in Nairobi.

The ceremony at the Kenya College of Accountancy was marked with the swearing in of 30 statement takers who will operate within Nairobi.

TJRC chairperson Bethuel Kiplagat appeared unperturbed by calls that he quits his job over allegations lodged against him by the civil society. Mr Kiplagat said that those seeking to have him removed had the right to do so adding that this could not stop his Commission’s work.

He, however, complained that the Sh190 million set aside for the Commission was inadequate and appealed to the government to grant it more resources.

“The money set aside for all the Commissions in the reform process is inadequate. But I am glad that the Ministry of Justice has agreed to ask Treasury to grant more resources,” Mr Kiplagat said.

The TJRC boss said that those to testify to the Commission from November will be picked from the statements to be taken by the 300 personnel recruited for the exercise.

The statement takers will be required to gather information on atrocities committed between December 12, 1963 to February 28, 2008.

Mr Kiplagat urged the statement takers to ensure that the quality supersedes the quantity of their work. He asked them to take time in recording their statement as the records will form the patterns that will qualify the witnesses for hearing.

“It is not how much the quantity of statements that matters to the Commission but the quality. The questionnaire in the statement form is designed to generate ample content so do not rush those whose statements you are recording but allow them the room to bring all of their story out,” said Mr Kiplagat.

He also urged Kenyans who may have been victims of various atrocities to come forward and record their statements. He said these include economic crimes, human rights abuse, irregular and illegal acquisition of land, marginalisation of communities, ethnic violence and sexual crimes.

The TJRC begins public hearings in November, a year before it presents its final report. The statement takers have been trained on human rights and trauma management before they begin collecting information.

“The hearings will be individual, institutional and thematic or event based. These should begin in November and carry on through the first half of 2011. The Commission will also hold community dialogue sessions nationwide to better enable healing, restoration of dignity and reconciliation,” Mr Kiplagat said.

The first sessions will be held in Mount Elgon, where the Commission has already taken statements from witnesses in the months of May and June.

The collecting of statements from the public in an exercise expected to run until January next year. The Commission expects to present its report and recommendations by November next year.

The TJRC has also clustered itself into five committees: human rights violations committee, the reparations and rehabilitation committee, the reconciliation committee, the amnesty committee and the administrative committee.

The TJRC has the huge task of looking into historical injustices dating back to 1963.