MPs have been accused of frustrating the implementation of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission recommendations.
The State law office said failure by the National Assembly for failing to pass enabling laws was hampering the release of the Sh10 billion restorative justice fund to assist victims of historical injustices.
Despite the TJRC document being handed to President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 21, 2013 and to Parliament two months later for implementation, the report continues to gather dust on the shelves at the expense of the victims.
The late Bethuel Kiplagat-led Commission made radical recommendations as a solution to heal past injustices meted out on Kenyans by the State, groups and powerful individuals in successive regimes.
The revelation came even as two victims of 2007 post-election violence and the 1982 attempted coup emotionally narrated how they were raped, tortured and rendered homeless. The duo, named as Bernard and Jacqueline, petitioned the Senate to fast-track the implementation of the report and release the Sh10 billion President Uhuru promised to heal the wounds of historical injustice.
The office of the Attorney General is also blaming the lawmakers for stalling the implementation of the recommendations of the truth and justice report.
Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto told the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that MPs have blocked the Government and its institutions from administering justice to victims of historical injustices as recommended in the report.
While making his remarks before Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei-led committee, Ogeto revealed that the legislators had amended the TJRC Act, 2008 that required the Attorney General to operationalise the report within six months of its publication.
Mary Wairagu, a senior legal office in the AG’s office said that lack of enabling law has hindered the process.
“We need a formula. You cannot just pay money without some legal framework. This has not been passed by the National Assembly,” she said.
Ogeto who was representing AG Paul Kihara in the meeting, said for instance, the report recommended the prosecution and investigations of deceased persons alleged to have perpetrated the injustices.
