Kiplagat and our dark past

Why Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat thought he deserved the sympathy of the Kenyan people beggars belief. 

In the 1980s, Kenyans of all stripes were hounded out of their jobs, homes and even nation for expressing beliefs and ideas contrary to the dictates of the ruling party, KANU, and its heavy-handed chairman, President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. There were those who enjoyed the ministrations of secret policemen in the torture chambers of the basements of Nyayo House and Nyati House. As children, even in our innocence, we knew that a visit to these buildings only heralded pain and humiliation, perhaps, even death. 

That decade also saw the relentless expansion of the politics of 'tribal divide and conquer' that KANU had perfected, with many undeserving individuals elevated to high office simply for belonging to the correct ethnic group or for accepting the hegemony of one ethnic group. The state laid the foundations for what would become the greatest of all corruption scandals and to date, the men and women who kept that edifice of human rights abuses, corruption and ethnic cleansing alive have yet to be brought to book.

When President Moi was sworn in as our second president, he promised to 'fuata nyayo'. And follow he did in the bloodstained footsteps of the Founding President, Jomo Kenyatta. The various purges that had been initiated under the first president were expanded by President Moi. Repression become second-nature to him, especially after the ill-fated coup attempt in 1982. He strengthened the place of the ruling party in national life ensuring that all members of the civil service were card-carrying, dues-paying members of the party or their careers would stagnate. Party apparatchiks, who were frequently illiterate or semi-literate, wielded enormous power and they used this power to enrich themselves at the expense of the common mwananchi. Dissenters faced the wrath of the state in a variety of very imaginative ways.

Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat may not have participated in any of the atrocities that were committed by his government, but he cannot stand blameless in the Twenty-first Century. He was there. He knew what was going on. And he did nothing. Instead, he rose to the highest levels of the state. Indeed, he was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation when his minister was abducted, tortured and brutally murdered. He was a mandarin in the Ministry of Home Affairs when thousands of innocent men, women and children were murdered by Kenya's armed forces in the now infamous Wagalla Massacre. For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing, so said Simon Wiesenthal who did so much to expose the evils of the Nazi regime after the Second World War.

Together with retired army General Lazaro Sumbeiwo, Ambassador Kiplagat will be remembered for his sterling role in shepherding the Sudan peace process leading to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and South. However, this will not wash away the stain associated with the atrocities committed by the KANU regime. When Ambassador Kiplagat was appointed the chairman of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, the objections of the vocal few reflected the fact that many of them knew that his appointment served to underscore the lack of commitment to the transitional process. There was never going to be reconciliation or justice if Ambassador Kiplagat continued to helm the TJRC and his resignation is a first step towards restarting the process.

Ambassador Kiplagat must appear before the Commission to explain his role, if any, in the decision-making processes of the Moi Regime. This is something that he cannot escape. He was there when evils were perpetrated against Kenyans. He can shed light on what motivated the government to maintain such a strangle-hold on the media; why it dedicated so much of its meagre resources in pursuing, detaining and molesting Kenyans for demanding their rights. His day in court will come, but if he wishes to vindicate himself in the eyes of Kenyans, to be absolved of his sins of associations, he must come clean or history will judge him harshly.