We must address past injustices to gain national reconciliation

Koki Muli

On March 12 and 13, I sat through a National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) conference aimed at "Deconstructing our Past Differences to construct a Shared Future."

I listened to people talk about "identity, major grievances they had against their Government and other ethnic communities, governance problems, cross-border conflicts, hate speech and vernacular FM radios, land problems, ethnic ‘egoism,’ ethnic ‘purity,’ unemployment and problems of youth."

I wondered what had gone wrong in Kenya. Do we hate each other this much – there is so much past injustices, corruption, "ethnicism" (like racism) and pain! What happened to "uzalendo," "utu" and "Ukenya"? Or did we even have these ever? Who teaches us uzalendo na Ukenya?

Besides my passport and the fact that I live within the borders of Kenya, what really makes me Kenyan? And now that we have aired our grievances, what good did it do for us? Were we supposed to experience some catharsis? Who will lead us out of this quagmire of pain, hurt and hate?

My thoughts led me to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). Maybe this is where we needed to find catharsis.

TJRC was established as one of the Agenda Four Commissions in response to Kenyans’ demands to inquire into past injustices in order to heal, reconcile and ensure that we never have to repeat the past mistakes – that in fact we may be able to "deconstruct our past differences to construct a shared future".

The TJRC is supposed to help us speak and share our "truths" whatever shades they are, so that we can experience catharsis individually and in solidarity.

The NCIC has been addressing our ethnocentrisms (so as to achieve cohesion and integration) while the TJRC is ‘victim-centred’ helping individuals deal with grievances and truths.

Ideally, the two commissions are supposed to guarantee us resolution of past injustices to give us a clean break from the past to a shared and prosperous future, together. The NCIC has so far done an excellent job, as it has taken us from community dialogues towards "Kenya Kwanza" because "Kenya hii ni yetu, sisi sote."

The TJRC on the other hand, lacks public trust and confidence. Since the commission was set up, there have been wrangles about allegations against its chairperson, Amb Bethwel Kiplagat, with demands for his removal and to face a tribunal. At some stage, while he was chairing the TJRC, its work stagnated for a long while, with Kenyans calling for its disbandment.

The commission has since been battling credibility and legitimacy issues. The commissioners, while calling for a tribunal to investigate its chairperson, stated; "the fact of the matter is that the name of Amb Kiplagat is mentioned repeatedly in connection with the Wagalla massacre, the murder of Dr Robert Ouko and with regard to illegal and irregular allocation of land.

The mentions do not allude to guilt, but rather that by reason of his association with these matters there is definitely a likelihood of conflict of interest."

The issue has always been that if the allegations were not addressed before the conclusion of the work of TJRC, the integrity of the process would be compromised and the perceived conflict of interests by the chair sabotage its work.

Kiplagat has always maintained that the allegations against him must be conclusively investigated fairly and in accordance with the law to clear his name and has blocked establishment of a tribunal by going to court.

The commissioners, unhappy, allege that he has now "ethnicised" the issue, as they or he, have no chance of addressing the allegations against him. They argue they have done most of the work without him; he should just stay away and allow them to conclude their report with dignity and integrity. Sadly, I agree.

The writer is an elections and constitutional law expert and lecturer, South Eastern University College