KAIKAI KICKER: Yes compensate, but what about impunity?

On my kicker tonight, yes, it is ok to compensate to compensate victims of the government’s violent repression of political protests. Yes, they deserve every penny on offer and indeed more than can possibly be offered. But yes, compensate, then what?

What happens to the elephant in the room? What happens to the deep-rooted deplorable culture of impunity that generates such victims almost every election since 2007? What happens to the offender now that the victim is compensated? What should we do about the impunity that creates the environment for such acts of needless harm to happen?

We should never forget this incident. That is the signature video of official impunity. Trained, conditioned and socialized to fight and hate the political opposition especially certain figures such as the late Raila Odinga, some men in uniform or national plainclothes over-delivered, especially during or after elections.

They descended to low levels of partisan militia protecting narrow political interests in the name of the state and in the name of government. In the process, many innocent Kenyans fell victim… Take a look at this one; what was his sin and where are his assaulters today?

You know, in incidents like this, victims suffer lifelong damage both physical and mental. So it is not enough to compensate? What guarantees do we give that the impunity cycle will be broken? Lots of Kenyans, lots of families are tonight living with permanent scars that are a direct consequence of official impunity.

Take the family of Baby Samantha Pendo, killed by overzealous police officers out in Kisumu to do what they routinely and dutifully did since 2007 – impose a presidential election result…

That little casket of Baby Pendo is just one of many images of an impunity trail that no compensation can cover. Impunity must be confronted by holding all its agents accountable; only then will compensation make sense.