ABSTRACT
Different kinds of epistemic injustice occur in the context of truth commissions. In this article, I will illustrate such with the example of one particular epistemic injustice that occurred during the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In their book, There was this Goat, Krog, Ratele and Mpolweni (2009) analysed the difficult reception of the testimony of Mrs Konile, during the TRC hearings. Her testimony seemed to be very incoherent, but during their research which was partially based on the truth commission archive, the authors reached a better understanding of her testimony. This research is the basis for my conceptualisation of how a truth commission archive can contribute to the redress of particular epistemic injustices that can occur during the process of an active truth commission. I show in my article the importance of Verne Harris’ archival principles of the ‘archive for justice’ and ‘hospitality to otherness’. Based on the work of Harris and other archivists forming part of the same tradition (Joan Schwartz, Terry Cook and Randall Jimerson), I further recommend that the custodians of truth commissions archives have good reason to act as activist-archivists in order to fight epistemic injustices in the context of truth commissions.
