Abdikadir, Omwanza join Ruto compensation panel's legal team

Senior Counsel Abdikadir Mohamed appointed to help steer the Compensation Panel through a legal impasse.[File, Standard]

The embattled Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests has enlisted two senior lawyers, Abdikadir Mohamed and Omwanza Ombati, to steer it through a growing legal impasse that has stalled its work.

The appointments come weeks after the High Court in Kerugoya temporarily suspended the rollout of President William Ruto's compensation framework, pending a petition challenging its legality.

Abdikadir, a Harvard-trained Senior Counsel and former MP, is widely respected for his expertise in constitutional law and public interest litigation.

Ombati, who represents the Law Society of Kenya on the Judicial Service Commission, brings deep experience in legal governance.

Ruto's 17-member panel, unveiled in August, includes Prof. Makau Mutua, Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo, Amnesty International-Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton, and former Solicitor-General Kennedy Ogeto, among others.

But its composition has drawn sharp criticism, prompting Odhiambo to resign months after her appointment.

Separately, Wajir West MP Yussuf Mohamed Farah has written to the government demanding that victims of the 1984 Wagalla Massacre be included in the state's reparation plan, which currently limits compensation to victims of police brutality up to 2017.