32 Kenyan families to receive Ksh.11.3 billion in Boeing crash compensation

The payments are part of compensation being released to 93 families represented by Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered, whose clients include passengers and crew members of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610.

Ribbeck Law announced on August 26, 2026, that Boeing would begin making the final payments to its clients following the conclusion of legal proceedings in the United States and other jurisdictions.

The compensation stems from two U.S. Department of Justice resolutions involving Boeing over the crashes of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

The first crash, involving Lion Air Flight 610, occurred on October 29, 2018, shortly after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia. All 189 people on board died.

Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people on board, including dozens of Kenyan nationals.

Investigations into both crashes identified problems involving the aircraft's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight-control system designed to address handling characteristics of the 737 MAX.

According to Ribbeck Law, the victim compensation component of the U.S. Justice Department resolutions totals approximately $944.5 million.

The figure comprises $500 million allocated under a 2021 Deferred Prosecution Agreement and a further $444.5 million under a 2025 Non-Prosecution Agreement.

The 2025 agreement also provides for approximately $455 million in additional spending on compliance and aviation-safety programmes, according to the law firm.

Ribbeck Law said its 93 clients were spread across more than 35 countries, requiring coordination of claims and litigation across multiple jurisdictions.

“We handled a highly complex matter that required international coordination across more than 35 countries where the victims resided,” said Manuel von Ribbeck of Ribbeck Law Chartered.

He said the legal work involving the firm's clients in the United States, Africa, the Middle East and Asia had now been concluded, paving the way for the compensation payments.

The firm said the broader Boeing 737 MAX settlement arising from the DOJ resolutions amounts to approximately $3.64 billion, including the 2021 and 2025 resolutions.

It further said Boeing had paid approximately $2 billion through separate civil settlements, although most individual civil settlement amounts remain confidential.

The combined payments, according to the law firm, exceed $5.64 billion in compensation and related payments.

Peter S. Lubin, co-counsel, DiTommaso Lubin P.C. said: “It has been a privilege to work alongside Monica and Manuel Ribbeck, whom I have known for decades. Helping to secure a measure of justice for these families, and a measure of accountability from Boeing, ranks among the proudest moments of my career. In more than forty years of practice, I have not worked with better negotiators of complex settlements. Monica and Manuel’s compassion for their clients drives everything they do, and it is what allowed these families to be compensated for losses that are, in truth, beyond measure.”

Ribbeck Law said individual civil awards in some cases had reached as high as $49.5 million per passenger.

For families who lost relatives in the two crashes, however, the payments come after years of legal proceedings and cannot compensate for the loss of life.

Dr Mohamad Farrag of Egypt, whose brother Abdel Hamid Farrag Mohamed Megali died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, said his family had sought accountability and stronger aviation safety measures alongside compensation.

“There is no amount of money in the world that can bring my brother back,” Farrag said.

Abdel was 26 and was pursuing a PhD while running an agricultural, fertilizer and pesticide business. He was also supporting his pregnant wife, their young son, his parents and three younger siblings at the time of his death.

Ribbeck Law said its objective throughout the litigation had been to secure compensation for victims while also pushing for measures aimed at improving aviation safety.

The final payments mark another stage in the lengthy legal fallout from the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes, which prompted global scrutiny of the aircraft's design, certification and safety oversight.