Thursday, October 30, 2008

Healing Wounds In Kenya

About 1,500 people were killed in the post-election violence (Photo from BBC News)

Kenya Set To Get Truth Commission -- BBC News

Kenya's parliament has approved a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to probe human rights abuses since independence in 1963.

Those found guilty of genocide and other human rights violations will not be eligible for amnesty.

The move comes amidst debate on how to deal with those implicated in the violence that broke out after the disputed elections in December 2007.

An international tribunal has been urged to try those behind the clashes.

More than 1,500 people were killed and some 300,000 more fled their homes in the unrest.

President Mwai Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, now prime minister, signed a power-sharing deal in February to bring an end to the crisis and formed a coalition government.

Read more ....

My Comment: This commission will only scratch the surface of what is wrong in Kenya. Kenya .... like the rest of Africa .... is being fractured by ethnic/tribal conflicts, a culture of political corruption, and a breakdown of social/cultural traditions. If kenya and the rest of Africa do not resolve these issues .... we will not talk about failed states .... we will be talking about failed continents.

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