NPI-Africa
A Peace Research Organization
Background Paper: April 2008
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and Transitional Justice in
Africa: Lessons and Implications for Kenya
By George Wachira1 and Prisca Kamungi2
This Policy Brief is intended to contribute to the public debate on the proposed Truth,
Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) for Kenya. The content is informed by
ongoing research being carried out by NP I-Africa and the West Africa Network for
Peacebuilding (WANEP). Focusing specifically on respondent’s expectations and
perceptions, the research aims at drawing out lessons from transitional justice
experiences in Africa, in particular the increasingly popular TRC approach. The
research examined three countries that have concluded their TRCs or equivalents
(Ghana, Sierra Leone and South Africa), one that is in the process of implementing
(Liberia) and two that are still considering setting up TRCs (DRC, Kenya). Respondents
were drawn from a wide sample of victims, experts, former commissioners, civil society
actors, government officials, perpetrators, individuals who gave testimonies or submitted
statements to the commissions, relatives of victims, care professionals and researchers,
among others.
I. Introduction
The debate on the formation of a TRC3 in Kenya has been before the public for some
time. In the lead-up to the 2002 elections that marked the end of the 24-year regime of
Daniel Arap Moi, opposition politicians and civil society activists advocated for a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address past human rights violations. After the
opposition’s victory, the new government appointed a Task Force in 2003 headed by
Prof. Makau Mutua to seek the public’s views on the formation of a TRC.4 The Task
Force recommended the formation of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission
(TJRC) to investigate:
Ø political assassinations and killings
Ø Massacres and possible genocides
Ø Political violence and murder of democracy advocates
Ø Torture, exile, disappearances, detention and persecution of opponents
Ø Rape
Ø Politically instigated ethnic clashes and
Ø Violations of economic, social and cultural rights
Rescue Kenya 