Nairobi (Fides Service) - What should be done about crimes and injustices of the past? This is the question many in Kenya are asking after the election of President Mwai Kibaki which put an end to almost 40 years of rule by the Kenya African National Union which was in power since independence in December 1963 to December 1962.
The question was tackled by Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, Raphael Ndingi mwana 'a Nzeki in an article published 24 march by the East African Standard. The Archbishop calls for the immediate creation of a Commission for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation. "Kenyans have suffered in various ways and the best way to deal with the past is not revenge but to say the truth and denounce those responsible and their supporters. The Archbishop recalled in particular mysterious murders remained unpunished such as that of government minister Robert Ouko killed in February 1990 and Mill Hill Missionary Father John Anthony Kaiser killed in August 2000. The Archbishop of Nairobi underlines that the Church does not advocate revenge but she says that crimes must be punished in keeping with justice. LM (Fides Service 27/3/2003 EM lines 19 Words: 215)