Gicheru on receiving end over TJRC woes

By Peter Orengo

The civil society has shifted blame on the crisis facing Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to Chief Justice Evan Gicheru.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the International Centre for Policy and Conflict has blamed the Chief Justice for not constituting a tribunal to probe the conduct of chairman Bethuel Kiplagat.

Last week, TJRC Commissioner Ronald Slye resigned, blaming his dissatisfaction for the six months he worked with TJRC on lack of support from Government, and the unresolved allegations against Kiplagat.

Speaking in Nairobi yesterday, a section of the civil society asked other commissioners to follow suit so that a suitable commission is formed.

"The fact that an insider and an expert in international law and transitional justice observed that Kiplagat has a case to answer on various allegations speaks volumes about the competence, capacity and destiny of TJRC," said Tom Kagwe, a senior project officer at KHRC.

Prof Slye had said as a commissioner, he did not have a clear picture of the issues surrounding Kiplagat.

"In January, the chairman privately told a number of us he had never been in Wajir, and that he was certainly not there in 1984.

"A few weeks later, he said he did not remember if he had attended a meeting in Wajir in February 1984. In a recent TV interview, he admitted he was at a meeting in Wajir in February 1984, days before the massacre," Slye said.