Safari Africa Radio

The Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission {TJRC} failed in its statement collection process after the recruitment of monitors was not done professionally and transparently and thus failed to accomplish the overall mandate to promote peace, justice, national unity, healing, and reconciliation among Kenyans. 

According to a report by the Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO) dubbed “The Quest for an Elusive Justice” this  led to situations of bias against or favourism to some communities and cases of both victims and perpetrators being hired, therefore compromising the objectivity of the reconciliation process. 

The CRECO report that seeks to gauge the effectiveness of citizen participation in the TJRC’s process revealed that despite TJRC working under very hard and very trying conditions most monitors were not well trained on transitional justice and human rights issues. 

“This affected the quality and efficacy of statements taken. Statement takers were quite few and did not therefore reach out to all the affected areas in the country. There are many places, violations and crimes which were not covered in statement taking,” said the 62 page report.

The report while ascertaining the delivery of transitional justice to victims of atrocities through effective monitoring of the TJRC’s process noted there were cases whereby women and children did not participate effectively because it was assumed that if a husband or father is involved, he will obviously represent issues affecting the entire family.

“The Commission did not have adequate mechanisms for witness protection and psycho-social support to victims during this process.  Its dependence on the provincial administration is seen to have demobilized victims or publics who still view it as part of instruments and purveyors of impunity in Kenya,” added the report.

On public hearing, the report found out that the commission failed to receive the requisite legitimacy and publicity for its work as the support from the key stakeholders especially the general public, some victims, media and donors waned following the credibility questions facing its chairperson.

“The Commission did not avail its calendar of events to local stakeholders on time. This together with arbitrary and untimely change of venues decimated public support and participation in many regions. Some of the venues or offices were not friendly to elderly, persons with disability among other disadvantaged groups in the society,” said the report. 

Furthermore the report said that the commission failed to create the expected platforms for both the victims and suspected perpetrators to directly engage each other for non-retributive truth telling. 

On this note the CRECO report recommended that all stakeholders must work together to establish a process that is above board and that is effective to realize justice, reconciliation and ultimately peace arguing that Kenya and its people did not have a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation process as is generally envisaged the world over.

“The Commission’s report despite its gaps must be published, gazetted and publicized to allow for input from victims and members of the public. Kenyans should be given an opportunity to give final feedback before it’s tabled in parliament,” added the report.

It further suggested that Kenyans should analyze and use the findings and recommendations of TJRC to demand new and more effective mechanisms for truth telling, if at all justice and reconciliation is to be attained. 

“The government and civil society should create a conducive environment for the perpetrators to show remorse and seek forgiveness in public for purposes of achieving reconciliation. Perpetrators who fail this test should face the full force of the law,” warned the report.