A life denied, justice denied: Protest victims share their ordeal ahead of June 25 memorial

Families of victims, survivors, church leaders, opposition leaders, and activists on Sunday congregated at Nairobi Baptist Church for a special service to remember those they refer to as heroes.

For survivors, this was another painful moment as they recounted their ordeal. The bullets took a part of them, and for some, life has never been the same. Their only remedy now is compensation as they wait for justice.

"On 25th June, I will be one year old with my hand like this. Nitakuwa shujaa, mimi ni shujaa. I will celebrate that day because I'm alive. What about those families who lost their loved ones? How will you compensate a father or mother still mourning their children?” says Mary Gathoni, a victim of the protests.

Peter Muteti, who was abducted at the height of the protests, recalls loosing his job.

"Personally, from abduction, I lost my job, of which for the last two years, it's been hard to get back on my feet. Inasmuch as the compensation money is not a lot, it will help reduce the trauma the families have,” he said.

Rex Masai’s father Chris Odawa, noted that the recent reparations announced by the government would not heal their wounds.

"Though they acknowledged the compensation, there is no amount of compensation that can bring life back. Never in this world,” Odawa said.

A message shared by church leaders who insisted that prosecution is the only remedy to ensure justice and accountability from the government.

"Restorative justice must never be used to cover up the need for retributive justice. Kenyans have a right to know the truth of who did what during those unfortunate moments,” said Rev. Canon Chris Kinyanjui, General Secretary, NCCK

As this was happening, another group of survivors from Mathare were complaining of a lack of transparency in the reparation framework.

The survivors, most of whom sustained gunshot wounds, say they are yet to receive any communication from KNCHR despite submitting their documents more than six months ago.

"Wale watu serikali inasema inataka kucompensate hatujui ni kina nani. Sasa hatujui kama tuko kwa list ama hatuko kwa list, so tunataka wajitokeze watuambie process ni gani,” said Alex Munyao.

"Vitu wanauliza niko nazo lakini wakiuliza witness sina. Witness huezi peleka mtu. Kama nikiripoti IPOA nikianbia wenye waliniokoa twende wanaogopa, wanasema na polisi wakirudi wanichukue,” said Anthony Wesonga.

The group is calling on KNCHR to publish the list of the beneficiaries and to visit informal settlements where the majority of cases of police brutality go unreported to ensure they too are covered.

"When you pay a one-off, ulipe milioni moja au 50,000, hawa wanaenda therapy kila wakati. They are supposed to be supported continuously, wajitibu mpaka wapone,” said Fredrick Ojiro, an official at KHRC.