Victims of atrocity crimes have accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of failing to act to prevent violence and insecurity affecting six regions in the country.
They accused him of failing to use his power to protect lives and deliver justice in regions that already ravaged by drought and facing the threat of famine.
“We believe that failure to implement the recommendations of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation (that contain measures towards creation of a more stable and cohesive nation) has contributed to the current breakdown of law and order, and rising wave of violence across a country already ravished by widespread famine,” said the victims network in a statement.
Wachira Waheire, the coordinator of the National Victims Network, said in a statement released on the ninth anniversary of the signing of the National Accord and Reconciliation agreement, that the country was polarized along ethnic and political lines as it was in the run-up to the 2007 General Election.
Baringo, Marakwet, Turkana, Samburu, Laikipia, Mt Elgon and Trans Nzoia in North Rift; Kilgoris, Molo and Kuresoi in the South Rift; Migori and Kisumu Town in Nyanza; Athi River in Machakos, Tana River in Coast and Mandera, Wajir and Isiolo in North Eastern have been ravaged by a combination of drought and violence in the recent past.
The victims reminded Mr Kenyatta that two years had passed since he announced a Ksh10 billion Restorative Justice Fund, which had not yet been used to assist them. “Given the strength your government enjoys in Parliament and given that you have effectively used it to pass government agenda, why have you failed to invoke the same leverage in pursuing the adoption and full implementation of the TJRC report?” the victims asked in their statement. They expressed fear that failure to implement the TJRC a roadmap to a more cohesive and stable nation that respects the rights of all did not augur well for the stability of the nation as it approaches the August 2017 elections.
The victims also asked Kenyatta to order fast tracking the operationalization of the Restorative Justice Fund and to invoke his powers to effectively contain the insecurity to protect citizens’ lives and property.
They also urged the President to personally intervene in an effort to resolve the public health crisis, by removing and replacing the current Ministry of Health Secretary and the Principal Secretary as a first step towards effective resolution of the stalemate around the strike.
