Rift in Kenya rights group runs much deeper Wrangles pit commission vice chairperson Hassan Omar (right) against chairperson Florence Simbiri-Jaoko. Photo/FILE Serious divisions threaten to split the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in the middle. Details of the split continue to emerge after an alleged leak of vital witness protection information by a commissioner
Now Saturday Nation can reveal that those allegations are a tip of the iceberg as more fierce boardroom wars threaten to spiral out of control. The wrangles pit commission vice chairperson Hassan Omar against chairperson Florence Simbiri-Jaoko.
The two were appointed in 2008. Both Ms Jaoko and Mr Omar wield immense power in and outside the commission. According to a press release issued when they were elected, the chairperson has the status of a Court of Appeal judge while the deputy has the same status as a High Court judge.

It is these powers that are escalating the wars in the KNCHR, with human rights activists fearing it may be headed the same way as the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

Documents Saturday Nation saw as well as interviews with former staff members reveal that a section of the commission led by Ms Jaoko wants disciplinary action to be taken against Mr Omar for speaking to the press about alleged leaks of witness information.

But in an advert on Friday, Ms Jaoko downplayed the leak, saying there was no evidence that a commissioner compromised witnesses’ security. She also sought to dissociate the commission from her deputy’s comments, saying they were personal. But a source who has worked at the commission said the row portends a major fallout within the KNCHR.

The source said tension had been building since July last year when the rights watchdog released a list of 219 suspects linked to the post-poll violence. Sources said the commission is also split over ethnic and sectarian interests, with members suspecting each other of “protecting their own.”

“It appears the commission is becoming as compromised as any other government institution,” said Mr Ndung’u Wainaina, the executive director of the Centre for Policy and Conflict. Eldoret-based rights activist Ken Wafula, who raised the red flag on the suspected leaks said as long as senior officials were suspects, trusting the commission for protection is more like entrusting the life of a witness to a suspect
However, Mrs Jaoko denied there was any fallout between her and her deputy. “As a commission, we have agreed on certain parameters. If one commissioner does not meet them we can only peer review. As a body, you work together, it does not mean you always agree,” she said. Mr Omar could not be immediately reached for comment.