Locating Civil Society in Kenya’s Transitional Justice Agenda: A Reflection on the Experience of the Kenya Transitional Justice Network with the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission
Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society, 2018
This chapter outlines the origins of Kenya’s transitional justice agenda and the role of civil so... more This chapter outlines the origins of Kenya’s transitional justice agenda and the role of civil society in shaping it, with a focus on Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) process. It argues that Kenyan civil society played a critical role in the truth, justice and reconciliation process by assuming various roles that include (1)
advocacy for the establishment of a truth commission; (2) sensitisation and mobilisation of victim groups to participate in the TJRC; (3) acting as monitors and watchdogs to the process; (4) serving as technical experts advising the TJRC; and (5) advocating
for the implementation of the findings and recommendations of the TJRC report.
The chapter begins by providing the historical context of Kenya from the advent of colonialism to the violence witnessed in the aftermath of the 2007 general elections and how this informed the current transitional justice agenda. It then focuses on the actual formulation of the transitional justice agenda as part of a mediated settlement to end the violence. The chapter commences the discussion of civil society’s
involvement in shaping Kenya’s interaction with transitional justice before narrowing in on the specific experience of KTJN and its engagement with the TJRC. The chapter finally reflects on KTJN’s approach and highlights its challenges and the lessons learnt so far.
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TITRE ET RÉSUMÉ EN FRANCAIS: L'apport du contentieux, de la justice transitionnelle et de l'activisme communautaire à l'éradication de l'apatridie au Kenya: réflexion à partir des cas des communautés nubienne, makonde et shona
advocacy for the establishment of a truth commission; (2) sensitisation and mobilisation of victim groups to participate in the TJRC; (3) acting as monitors and watchdogs to the process; (4) serving as technical experts advising the TJRC; and (5) advocating
for the implementation of the findings and recommendations of the TJRC report.
The chapter begins by providing the historical context of Kenya from the advent of colonialism to the violence witnessed in the aftermath of the 2007 general elections and how this informed the current transitional justice agenda. It then focuses on the actual formulation of the transitional justice agenda as part of a mediated settlement to end the violence. The chapter commences the discussion of civil society’s
involvement in shaping Kenya’s interaction with transitional justice before narrowing in on the specific experience of KTJN and its engagement with the TJRC. The chapter finally reflects on KTJN’s approach and highlights its challenges and the lessons learnt so far.
In reflecting on colonialism and the establishment of the Kenyan state, the report highlights the emergent legacies of impunity, land injustices, corruption, non-responsive justice systems, non-participatory governance and coercive state institutions used to further repression. On post-independent governments up to 2002, the paper notes authoritarianism, ethnic bias in governance and corruption as some of the key hindrances to addressing Kenya’s colonial legacy. Thereafter, the focus shifts to the post-2002 context when the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) as an opposition political coalition successfully ascended to power and sparked Kenya’s formal conversation on transitional justice. The argument is made for transitional justice in Kenya to be defined in the transformative terms of deconstructing the colonial state that has been preserved and utilized by successive administrations since independence. In this period attempts to undertake constitutional reform and establish a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) are initiated, but ultimately fail with devastating consequences for the country as seen during the PEV.
The report then ventures into the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) process which was the mediation effort that was utilized to end the PEV crisis by establishing a grand coalition government and an agenda to address the long-standing issues that were deemed responsible for causing the violence. It is at this point that the report discusses in detail, the processes utilized to address the long-standing issues as Kenya’s transformative transitional justice agenda, namely: accountability for the PEV; the TJRC; and institutional reforms within the judiciary and police. In all these instances, reference is made to achievements and challenges experienced within those processes in light of their contribution to transformation.
In conclusion, the paper takes stock of Kenya’s status 10 years since the KNDR was ratified and in the face of the recently concluded 2017 elections that have occasioned yet another political crisis. A key reflection is that while the KNDR successfully outlined a transformative agenda, that agenda has been inhibited by the limitations from the nature of the transition as well as limitations within the transitional justice mechanisms themselves.
The chapter is structured into five main sections. This section introduced the subject and scope of the analysis. The second traces the historical evolution of police reform in Kenya, albeit briefly. Then, section three looks into the development of a counter-terrorism agenda in Kenya. The fourth section evaluates the impact of counter-terrorism measures on police reform in Kenya while the final section brings the chapter to a conclusion.
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