The Practice and Promise of Transitional Justice in Africa

Presented by the City Bar's African Affairs Committee, host Justin Loveland, a commercial litigator who previously served as a legal consultant to Seychelles' Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission, is joined by four leading voices in transitional justice who have worked on or alongside truth commissions across the continent: Professor Ron Slye (Kenya and South Africa), the Honorable Bernard Georges (Seychelles), and Didier Gbery and Dr. Baba Jallow (The Gambia).

The panel discusses the legal standards truth commissions rely on and how formal findings differ from narrative truth. Panelists then compare what worked and what didn't in their own countries, from the Gambia's live-broadcast hearings and Kenya's women-only hearings to Seychelles' stalled follow-through, along with challenges like witness protection and cultural silence around sexual violence. The conversation closes on reparations: who should pay, whether perpetrators can be required to compensate victims, how The Gambia delivered interim relief while its commission was still hearing testimony, and why repair may extend well beyond money.

03:29 What Is Transitional Justice? 06:42 Legal Standards for Truth Commissions 13:41 The Gambia: Successes and Challenges 17:42 Building a National Conversation in the Gambia 21:07 Seychelles: A Unanimous Start, a Stalled Finish 24:23 Kenya: Women-Only Hearings and a Hidden Archive 32:12 Creating a Constituency for Reform 36:01 The Question of Reparations 41:00 Who Should Pay? Comparing Approaches 44:21 The Gambia's Reparations Act and Interim Relief 53:15 Reparations Beyond Money 56:21 Closing Thoughts