This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
The handover of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report in 2013 was a complex and contentious process, marked by allegations of interference and manipulation.
According to former TJRC commissioner Ronald Slye, the report was handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration, despite initial resistance from the Kibaki administration.
As Slye recounts in his book, 'The Kenyan TJRC, an Outsider's View from the Inside,' the handover was a game of musical chairs, with various stakeholders vying for control.
On May 3, 2013, the TJRC commissioners were under pressure to meet a deadline to hand over the report and release it to the public.
However, the process was marred by extensions, infiltration, and threats, which led to the commissioners capitulating to demands for changes to the report.
As Slye notes, the changes were made without a formal meeting of the commission, and even informal chats with then National Intelligence Service boss Michael Gichangi failed to yield results.
It was only after the changes were secured, with international commissioners agreeing to write a dissent, that the State House gave them an appointment.
When questioned about the allegations, former Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia denied any wrongdoing, stating that he had not called the commissioners to do their work.
