Rights groups and opposition leaders have accused President William Ruto’s administration of using a new compensation framework for victims of police brutality as a cover-up for impunity, warning that it shields perpetrators and ignores enforced disappearances linked to last year’s Gen Z protests.
The framework, launched on August 8 and chaired by law scholar Makau Mutua within the Executive Office of the President, seeks to compensate families affected by police violence.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga supported the initiative, describing it as a step toward redress and reconciliation. But opposition leaders and activists insist that the same government accused of ordering violent crackdowns cannot oversee justice for victims.
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“A wolf cannot decide the matters of the cow… Fisi hawezi kusimamia kesi ya mbuzi,” said Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, arguing that those responsible for killings cannot run the process of redress.
Human rights groups, including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and Amnesty International, reported at least 61 deaths and 89 enforced disappearances during the 2024 Gen Z protests.
Critics say the government’s refusal to open independent investigations into the abductions and killings undermines its credibility. Despite Ruto’s assurance on May 12 that all abducted persons had been returned to their families, many remain missing. Families of activists such as Laban Kiio continue searching for answers.
“The government cannot buy silence through compensation while families still mourn the disappeared,” noted a statement by a coalition of civil society organisations.
The controversy reflects a wider pattern across East Africa, where Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have faced similar allegations of state-linked abductions and extrajudicial killings.
The legality of the compensation panel is now under judicial scrutiny. On October 7, the High Court extended conservatory orders halting its operations until October 21, pending a constitutional challenge.
Petitioners argue that President Ruto lacked legal authority to establish the panel and question the criteria used to select its members. Mutua and Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo filed an appeal to lift the freeze, but the Law Society opposed the move, calling it premature and legally flawed.
Justice Sankale Ole Kantai later recused himself from the case, citing a conflict of interest. Odhiambo has since resigned from the panel, citing time constraints and the need to protect the society’s independence. She confirmed that victims continue to reach out in frustration, with no hearings held and no compensation delivered.
The Law Society is now pursuing justice through the courts, including cases in Kisumu.
Meanwhile, Mandera East MP Yussuf Farah has threatened legal action, accusing the framework of excluding victims of historical atrocities such as the Wagalla Massacre. The panel’s mandate covers only cases from 2017 onward, leaving out decades of unresolved abuses.
The panel was tasked with verifying and categorising victims using data from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Ministry of Health, and recommending reparations and prosecutions through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Those functions remain frozen, and no victims have received compensation. Rights groups maintain that Kenya must establish an independent, internationally supported judicial process to investigate and prosecute officers involved in unlawful killings, including those linked to the death of protester Rex Masai.
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Rights groups and opposition leaders have accused President William Ruto’s administration of using a new compensation framework for victims of police brutality as a cover-up for impunity, warning that it shields perpetrators and ignores enforced disappearances linked to last year’s Gen Z protests.
The framework, launched on August 8 and chaired by law scholar Makau Mutua within the Executive Office of the President, seeks to compensate families affected by police violence.
Former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga supported the initiative, describing it as a step toward redress and reconciliation. But opposition leaders and activists insist that the same government accused of ordering violent crackdowns cannot oversee justice for victims.
Follow The Standard
channel
on WhatsApp
“A wolf cannot decide the matters of the cow…
Fisi hawezi kusimamia kesi ya mbuzi
,” said Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, arguing that those responsible for killings cannot run the process of redress.
Human rights groups, including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and Amnesty International, reported at least 61 deaths and 89 enforced disappearances during the 2024 Gen Z protests.
Critics say the government’s refusal to open independent investigations into the abductions and killings undermines its credibility. Despite Ruto’s assurance on May 12 that all abducted persons had been returned to their families, many remain missing. Families of activists such as Laban Kiio continue searching for answers.
“The government cannot buy silence through compensation while families still mourn the disappeared,” noted a statement by a coalition of civil society organisations.
The controversy reflects a wider pattern across East Africa, where Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have faced similar allegations of state-linked abductions and extrajudicial killings.
The legality of the compensation panel is now under judicial scrutiny. On October 7, the High Court extended conservatory orders halting its operations until October 21, pending a constitutional challenge.
Petitioners argue that President Ruto lacked legal authority to establish the panel and question the criteria used to select its members. Mutua and Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo filed an appeal to lift the freeze, but the Law Society opposed the move, calling it premature and legally flawed.
Justice Sankale
Ole Kantai later recused himself from the case, citing a conflict of interest. Odhiambo has since resigned from the panel, citing time constraints and the need to protect the society’s independence. She confirmed that victims continue to reach out in frustration, with no hearings held and no compensation delivered.
The Law Society is now pursuing justice through the courts, including cases in Kisumu.
Meanwhile, Mandera East MP Yussuf Farah has threatened legal action, accusing the framework of excluding victims of historical atrocities such as the Wagalla Massacre. The panel’s mandate covers only cases from 2017 onward, leaving out decades of unresolved abuses.
The panel was t
asked with verifying and categorising victims using data from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Ministry of Health, and recommending reparations and prosecutions through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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Those functions remain frozen, and no victims have received compensation. Rights groups maintain that Kenya must establish an independent, internationally supported judicial process to investigate and prosecute officers involved in unlawful killings, including those linked to the death of protester Rex Masai.
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on WhatsApp
By Benard Orwongo