Centre for Memory and Development (Kenya)

The Centre for Memory and Development was established to help realize one of the vital recommendations contained in the final report of the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission: The establishment of a monument at the site of the former torture chambers in the basement of Nyayo House Building in the Central Business District of Nairobi City. The Centre’s mission is to advance peace, tolerance of diversity and national development through constructive memory work.

To achieve these goals, the Centre utilizes memorialization initiatives to confront and reckon with divisive issues of the past in an attempt to contribute to and strengthen national unity discourses at the national and county levels through the establishment of memorial sites. The Centre hopes to initiate honest social discussions among the citizenry by facilitating and establishing safe and open spaces for genuine and frank dialogues especially on issues of the past that are increasingly being relegated to historical dustbins.