Dear Ambassador H.E. Bethwell Kiplagat,RE: REQUEST FOR YOUR RESIGNATION AS CHAIR OF THE TJRC
Following weeks of wide consultation and reflection, ICJ Kenya has come to the difficult decision that it must respectfully request you to consider resigning your position as Chair of the Kenyan Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
Your chairmanship of the Kenyan truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission has been the subject of contestation from sections of the Kenyan public. We have endeavoured to understand the basis of these objections which we have classified into three clusters.
First, there are allegations that because of your position as the Kenyan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and later as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you might have useful information that would lead to the truth surrounding the death of the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Robert Ouko. It is noted that at the time of his death, Dr. Ouko was your minister when you were the Permanent Secretary. It has been pointed out that the independent investigation into the death of Dr. Ouko, by the Metropolitan Police (New Scotland Yard) recommended that you be involved in further investigations into the death of Dr. Ouko.
Secondly, it has been pointed out that you might have useful information on the irregular allocation of public land which took place in the past and which is an integral part of the investigations by the TJRC. In this regard, it has been claimed that you benefitted from the allocation of land alleged to have been allocated irregularly, and which, as pointed out, will come under investigation by the Commission. We have had sight of the detailed allegations against you, and can share these with you if you are interested.
Thirdly, members of the public and civil society view you as having countenanced human rights abuses or consistently failed to unequivocally condemn such actions in a past regime. This view is based on the fact that you held influential positions in a past regime was a major human rights violator, and whose acts form a major part of your inquiry at the TJRC.
For these reasons you are viewed as failing the first and most basic test of leading a truth seeking process- impartiality. As a result, your tenure as Chair of the TJRC might be disruptive and thus undermine the ongoing TJRC process.
We need to stress that we are aware that your appointment process was a very public affair. We also appreciate that the process leading to your appointment was in line with the provisions of the law i.e. from the Selection Panel to the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and finally to the Prime Minister and the President. We also know that you have very good credentials and come highly recommended.
However, your mandate is ultimately people-driven and is derived from victims, members of the public and civil society organizations, who have fought hard to realize the establishment of a truth seeking process- the Kenyan TJRC. They have the biggest stake in this process and now have no confidence in you. Similar to the reasoning behind legal principle that “justice must be done and be seen to be done” the TJRC is a national process that needs to be endorsed by the public at all stages for the process to be successful. Therefore those who lead the TJRC should be acceptable to the people -a requirement that you now fail to meet.
We know that you love this country and as an honoured diplomat, you are aware of when to fight a good fight and when to ‘hang up the boxing gloves’ – your tenure at the Commission unfortunately falls within the realm of the latter. Kindly, resign in order to restore dignity to this process.
Please note that it is out of respect for you and your position, and in order that you may have a quiet reflection on the matters that we have covered in the letter, we have chosen to only copy this letter to your colleagues in the Commission and the Minister for Justice.
Yours faithfully,
George Kegoro
Executive Director
