The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission will resume its public hearing on June 8, 2020. This announcement came following  consultations with the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

The commission, however, said, they will pick up from where they stopped before suspending public hearings in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The statement from the commission said  “In light of the current State of Emergency and Covid-19 rules and regulations, seating arrangements for Commissioners and staff at the hearing hall will be reconfigured to accommodate social distancing and other precautionary measures. It is also anticipated that only a few family members or close relatives of witnesses will be allowed in the hall, in addition to essential TRRC support staff including interpreters, sound engineers, psychosocial and medical support workers, security officers and media personnel. While all media houses will still be able to cover the proceedings, measures will be put in place to ensure that social distancing and other Covid-19 rules are observed.”

“The resumption of public hearings on June 8 is in accordance with the Commission’s schedule and work plan for 2020. It would also mean that the Commission will have lost only two weeks of hearings. In that case, public hearings will be projected to end during the last, rather than the first week of November 2020 as initially planned.”

By: Fatoumatta Samateh

For Kairaba News Network