Protest victims compensation panel warns against politicizing process

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Committee overseeing the Implementation of the Ten-Point Agenda and the NADCO Report (COIN-10) told off politicians from meddling in the matter.

KNHRC chairperson Claris Oganga and COIN-10 vice chairperson Javas Bigambo said they are formulating a framework to effectively undertake the compensation process, including creating a verified list of protest victims set to be compensated by June this year.

While addressing the press on Monday, the team urged victims of police brutality to continue reporting the cases before the lapse of a 21-day window.

The commission also noted that they have already commenced preparation of the protest guidelines, which will be shared with the National Assembly.

"We have rolled out the guidelines to inform how we will create the framework. We are waiting for the names of those who had not reported the cases from 2017, 2024 and 2025; we verify, and we ensure they are included in the reparations that will be given," she said.

"We want to finish before this matter is politicised. For us, reparations are to ensure victims are compensated and nothing political."

At the same time, they warned members of the public against filing false claims, adding that stern legal action will be taken against.

Dialogue talks under the 10-point agenda, which was signed between President William Ruto and the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, agreed to provide Ksh.2 billion to victims of the 2017, 2024 and 2025 nationwide protests that led to the death of Kenyans and many suffered injuries.

Chairperson Oganga said that the amount will be shared fairly among all victims, and in the unlikely event of the money not being sufficient, they will make recommendations to the National Government to increase the funds through a budgetary process.