Unresolved deaths bad for democracy

From Timbuktu to war-torn Goma in the Congo, killing fellow human beings is a capital offence. In fact most societies regard murders and unnatural deaths as elevated forms of criminality.

Sadly, Kenya's expanding list of unresolved deaths and massacres seems to be gnawing at her democracy with a chilling consistency. From our history of investigating deaths, killers have no cause to worry. In fact, deaths of high-profile Kenyans in unclear circumstances have become a political tool for whipping up emotions among the masses.

The most cited include the 1969 assassination of youthful minister Tom Mboya, the 1975 killing of then Nyandarua North Member of Parliament Josiah Mwangi Kariuki and the death of former Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Robert Ouko.

Investigations into these cases, among others, failed to nail the perpetrators.

Later on, commissions of inquiry, which have now become synonymous with depleting public coffers, became infamous for not delivering concrete findings.

In predictable fashion, the latest high-profile death in Kenya, that of Fidel Odinga, has become a subject of both investigation and speculation. It has also triggered fresh investigations into the unresolved death of the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo.

Aggrieved parties have come forth with claims of alleged tampering of forensic specimen meant to shed light on the cause of Mutula's death.

Like previous deaths that were shrouded in mystery, these cases continue to supply rumour mills with enough fodder to last an entire generation—until another equally suspicious death occurs.

Kenya has a lot to borrow from nations such as Germany regarding pursuit of justice, no matter how long it takes.

Although it is almost 70 years after the Nazi atrocities during World War II, German authorities are still hot on a last-minute campaign to bring to justice killers implicated in the murders. And they are delivering results.

Take the example of Erich Priebke, a former elite officer in Adolf Hitler's government who died aged 100 years in October 2013. Notoriously known as 'the butcher of the Ardeatine caves', Priebke was part of Hitler's squad that slaughtered 335 people, including 75 Jews in Rome in March 1944.

Like what many Nazis did in his time, Priebke took off to Argentina in 1948 and remained tucked away for over 40 years. According to news agency AFP, he had become 'a respected member of the local German community' in Argentina.

He was finally extradited to Germany in 1995, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998.

Another suspect was 93-year-old Hans Lipschis who was arrested in May 2013 by Germany's Central Investigation Centre for Nazi Crimes.

In Kenya, Government bodies responsible for investigating cases and delivering justice are seemingly unwilling (or unable) to accomplish their mandate.

What adds insult to injury are the supposed 'commissions of inquiry' whose findings have never been made public.

Take the 1984 Wagalla Massacre in Wajir. What was meant to be a disarmament operation went awry, resulting in the killing of an estimated 3,000 people. The United Nations once cited this case as the worst case of human rights abuse in Kenya.

Despite the release of a report by the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in 2011—27 years after the massacre, widows and orphans are still waiting for justice.

Other atrocities include the Garissa Massacre of 1980 where an estimated 3,000 people died and the July 2005 Turbi Massacre in Marsabit where about 60 people were killed.

In 2007-2008 the post-poll chaos resulted in an estimated 1,300 deaths. The case was taken over by the Hague-based International Criminal Court although many local perpetrators remain untouched.

Kenya might have never seen crimes to the scale of Nazi Holocaust committed on its home soil, but the tradition of never delivering justice is a thorn in the flesh of our national pride.

Any sane democracy worth its salt—I'm at pains to consider Kenya one—is expected to exhaustively investigate suspected murders and massacres, prosecute perpetrators and conclude cases. Only then will Kenya be taken seriously in democratic matters.