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The impasse at the Truth Commission is a key impediment to the country’s healing agenda, the chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, said on Monday.

Dr Kibunja said the Truth Commission’s failure to carry out its mandate had put brakes on the cohesion agenda.

Speaking at an event to mark the World Press Freedom Day at Nairobi’s Intercontinental Hotel, Dr Kibunjia said that unless the besieged commission was “rescued”, the healing of the nation would not be achieved.

“Until that (reconciliation) process is concluded, we may not be able to do anything,” he said.

The healing agenda topped the discussions to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Apart from the setback caused by the TJRC, Dr Kibunjia also lamented that the integration law had plenty of loopholes.

“We’ll review the Act to include the right things that were omitted because the whole thing was done in a hurry,” he said. Money is also part of the hassle for the commission, but the hope is that with the next budget just two months away, this won’t be a problem any more.

Referendum

The NCIC chairman noted that with the referendum on the draft constitution coming up, his team was planning a conference to help reduce the polarisation of the country.

Politicians are the main target in the national unity campaign, as the NCIC now wants them to sign a code of conduct to keep them from making inflammatory statements in the referendum campaigns.
The point in this, Dr Kibunjia said, is to ensure that the country remains one “whichever way the vote goes.”

“Those who vote 'No’ in the referendum will still have to be governed by the very Constitution, should 'Yes’ win. How then do we stay together after the vote?” posed Dr Kibunjia. “This is not like an election where people will wait for five years to seek redress.”

The upcoming referendum and the next elections top the list of key threats to the country’s quest for unity, he said.

Dilemma

Addressing the same occasion, the chairman of Kenya’s Editors’ Guild, Mr Macharia Gaitho, said the media was in a dilemma over whether to report all events or to keep propaganda out of the headlines.

“While we may be trying not to inflame situations, we may end up covering up the wrongs in our society,” he warned.

Mr Gaitho said the challenge now lay in reporting events while taking care not to divide the country.

“Without healing, not even the Constitution, by itself, will save us,” said Mr Gaitho.

Ms Zipporah Musau, a managing editor at The Standard, asked editors to ensure that their publications “care about what the society will look like after the headlines.”

Mr Herman Igambi of the Royal Media Services said the only way the politicians can be reined in is if the country learnt from the post-poll experience and chose patriotism over selfish interests.

“You can’t stop them from doing it again unless we begin now,” said Mr Igambi, noting that it is the unchecked political statements that are partly to blame for the post-election chaos.

This year’s theme for the World Press Freedom Day was “Freedom of Information: The Right to Know”. Top editors and journalists from various media houses attended the event.