Protest victims decry broken promises as scars of police brutality linger

Despite the State's progress in paying out in phases, families and human rights activists complain of delays in paying some of the applicants.

They also demand for accountability by the perpetrators of the human rights violations.

For Carolyne Achieng, popularly known as Mama Cheryl, the pain of losing her daughter has been compounded by what she describes as a complete failure of justice.

On February 7, 2026, her daughter was shot dead while helping her mother at her fish kiosk at Nairobi's Huruma estate.

Months later, the officer accused of pulling the trigger remains in uniform, leaving the grieving mother to stare at her daughter's alleged killer carry on with life with no accountability.
“Kitu inaniuma kabisa ni ule askari mwenye aliuwa cheryl wanguhadi jana nlimuona akinipita hapo yeye bado ako kazini hajachukuliwa hatua yoyote aliuliwa na bunduki na huyo askari nashinda nikimuona kila mara,” said Achieng.

Then there is Hawa Sheila, a former street hawker at the archives. Her life was shattered during the 2024 finance bill protests when a tear-gas canister struck her eyes while she was pregnant.

She lost her sight and says she has never received compensation. Yet she continues to cling to the hope of seeing again.

“Sahii mi ni kipofu sioni kitu yoyote natakata kurudi ile hali yangu ya kawaida niliambiwa na daktari bado nikichinjwa hii macho naeza ona nirudi ile hali yangu ya jkawaida ruto nakuomba uweze kunitengenezesha macho yangu nirudi hali yangu,” Hawa said.

But Hawa is not alone. The scars of police brutality remain etched in the lives of numerous survivors, many of whom are still waiting for justice.

The mothers of victims and survivors network is now demanding presidential intervention, warning that a compensation process that shuts out documented victims is only compounding their suffering.

“Huyu mama alichomwa na karai amabayo ilipigwa teke na polisi na wengi ambao wametekwa nyara,kwa nini mpaka leo hawajachukuliwa hatua wanalindwa na nani ndani ya hii serikali ya Kenya,” said the KNHCR Emergency Affairs Officer Fredrick Ojiro.

Philecia Wamburu, a member of the mothers and survivors network, said “Juu tumeskia siku zimebaki chache ya kulipa hio fidia ya kupanguzwa machozi kama sisi wamama tumewekwa wapina watoto wetu wamekufa na waliuliwa na askari”.