Civil Society wants Kenyans to reject TJRC report

By Peter Orengo

The Civil Society has called on Kenyans to reject the final report by Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), citing lack of inclusivity during its sittings.

The TJRC’s work has finally come to an end after three years of collecting views from Kenyans on past historical injustices with the aim of creating reconciliation and healing among Kenyans.

Having been appointed by President Kibaki on July 22, 2009 on a two year tenure, the TJRC Commission had to face the rejection of the Chair Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat by a cross-section of the public and some of his fellow commissioners who felt his intransigence was costing the TJRC valuable time to fulfill its mandate.

Kiplagat was accused of having connection to the alleged massacre of civilians at Wagalla in Wajir District in February 1984. Many of his accusers felt he was more useful as a witness than Chair of the TJRC.

The Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (Creco) on Thursday claimed that after three years of work, the commission had done shoddy work and had purposely avoided to investigate "sensitive matters" and instead allowed witnesses to air views that were not part of the TJRC mandate.

" Since the onset, we noted laxity by the commission to properly sensitize members of the public on the TJRC mandate and objectives. So important issues were never brought before the commision," said Leo Mutisya, the Creco Program Cordinator.

Mutisya added; "on the presentation of testimonies and memoranda there was no merit in most regions as witnesses were denied the orportunity to appear before the commision."

A case in point is in Kisumu where many witnesses submitted their statements but only a fraction were heard, while in some regions the process was influenced by politicians.

" In Kericho a close ally of a known politician made presentation on behalf of the Kipsigis Community and the Ndorobo complained that whoever made the presentaion was not even known to the locals," said Demas Kiprono of International Commission of Jurists.

In some areas, the commission failed to show up, which is against the provision in the TJRC Act. This was witnessed in Kajiado where only one commissioner sat.

Creco which acted as the observer in the whole exercise now wants another commission that is people-driven, to be reconstituted afresh to cater for all victims.