State violence victims move to court over exclusion from compensation programme

The victims have accused the Professor Makau Mutua-led Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations of introducing what they describe as an unlawful "authentication process" that risks locking out victims whose claims had already been verified by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

United in their quest for justice, victims of enforced disappearance on Friday returned to press their demands, accusing the panel of sidelining them during the ongoing compensation process.

"We have been informed by people involved in the process that victims in this category will not be compensated."

"Now that the government says it will not compensate families of those who disappeared, then they should return our children to us. It is painful to see others being compensated while you lost your child and receive nothing."

According to the KNCHR, a total of 1,111 claims were verified, including 245 victims who died, 75 victims of sexual violence, 135 victims of torture and 35 victims of enforced disappearance.

The Coalition of Victims and Survivors Against State Violence claims that while other categories of victims are being processed for compensation, the panel has introduced an authentication process that could disadvantage victims of enforced disappearance.

"If the victims had already been verified by the KNCHR, why is the panel introducing a new and unlawful process that was never contemplated under the Presidential Proclamation or included in the court-sanctioned framework? Who authorised Professor Makau Mutua's panel to rewrite a process that had already been completed?"

The concerns come barely three weeks after the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations announced it had disbursed Ksh.674 million to 505 victims of protests.

However, some victims whose claims had already been verified say they are yet to receive any compensation.

"I was told the money would be deposited into my account on June 25, 2026, but to date I have not received anything. I have been asking the panel, and they keep telling me the problem is with my bank."

"Why has this process stalled for an entire month? What is preventing the completion of a process whose beneficiaries had already been identified and verified?"

The victims have now filed an application before the High Court seeking to halt the compensation process until their grievances are addressed.

"The exclusion of victims of enforced disappearance is not an administrative oversight but a calculated and selective implementation that undermines the integrity of the reparations process, violates the principles of equal justice and constitutes a grave violation of the rights of victims of enforced disappearance."

"We are asking the High Court to stop this unlawful exclusion, compel the implementation of the original reparations framework, order the publication of all 35 victims of enforced disappearance and the 135 victims of torture, and ensure that the compensation process is conducted legally and transparently."