TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION, THE KENYAN WAY

It is not a secret. Many atrocities and grave human right violations have been committed against many defenseless Kenyans. Some violations attracted world attention and were observed at the United Nation's General Assembly with a minute of silence. Ancestral lands were taken by a few individuals rendering many landless, armed forces who were meant to defend the country were used against the country's civilians, public properties were looted with abandon and Kenyans were set against one another in the name of politics. The bitterness resulting from these injustices become a time bomb that exploded in 2007/2008 after a disputed election results. After the post election violence it become imperative to reconcile the country for it to hold together. A truth, justice and reconciliation commission was formed headed by one ambassador Kiplagat.

With the selection of Kiplagat as the chair, the whole process was rendered still born. For starters, Kiplagat is part and parcel of the problems facing the country. He is that part of kenya that many want to forget. He was accused of involvement in many of the atrocities including the Wagalla masacre. When did the hyena become a judge in  a case involving the goats. As was expected and intended, the commission became entangled in an endless tag of war between the commissioners. The media kept on reporting the developments at the commission as a result of the wrangles rather than report on the submissions made by the public to the commission. All in all, they submitted a report with a list of some prominent Kenyans including the president and his deputy. It purports to recommend investigations on the named individuals to the director of prosecutions. As if all the shortcomings of the process were not enough to abuse the intelligence of kenyans, the report was handed to the president who is named in the report. You may be wondering who else would have received the report, i dont know either, but i think it would have been prudent to expunge the president's and the DP's names from the report so that it can have a chance of implementation, however slim. The president and his deputy are already facing crimes against humanity charges at the ICC and if at all they are guilty of the crimes their victims may get justice from there. Many doubt this will happen but at least they are facing uncertain consequences.
It surprises me how always the accused become victims in Kenya. The mentioned persons are already lining up their lawyers on the corridors of the courts to sue the commission for wrongly linking them to historical injustices. instead of pursuing the implementation of the report, the commission and the commissioners will have sleepless nights fighting off defamation charges in court. As the two bulls fight the grass will eventually bear the brunt. So much money and time wasted with no result and i think Kenyans somehow will have to wait for God's justice.Meanwhile i am sure dust will gather on this report as it did with many others.