'Not historic'- rights defenders push back on Kenya's Sh2bn reparations

An anti-riot police officer takes on a youthful protester blowing his trumpet along Kenyatta Avenue during the Anti-government protest on July 23, 2024. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Human rights defenders have accused the government of shielding police officers behind a Sh2bn compensation plan that pays victims without naming their killers.

Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday, June 17, Christine Alai, chairperson of the International Commission of Jurists Kenya chapter, rejected the framing of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reparations framework as a landmark moment.

"It is a significant moment but not historic," said Alai, pushing back against the celebratory tone that accompanied Monday's State House presentation of the framework to President William Ruto.

Alai said Kenya has a pattern of convening task forces, releasing reports and setting up compensation panels without ever holding perpetrators to account.

She called on the government to stop the cycle and ensure the right  victims are compensated without delay.

The KNCHR framework, presented to Ruto on Monday, June 15, at State House, Nairobi, lays out a structured plan for compensating victims of protest-related human rights violations dating back to 2017.

It covers abuse linked to the 2017 and 2022 post-election periods, the 2023 cost-of-living demonstrations, the 2024 Finance Bill protests and the 2025 Saba Saba unrest.

KNCHR chairperson Claris Ogangah, presenting the report, identified three structural failures at the heart of Kenya's human rights architecture: the absence of a formal reparations law, the failure to implement recommendations from past commissions including the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) and weak legislation.

"Kenya has taken an important step towards healing historical wounds, strengthening national unity and building a society founded on justice, human dignity, accountability and respect for human rights," noted Ogangah.

The commission has verified 1,101 victims across six categories of violations.

The government allocated Sh2 billion for compensation in the first supplementary budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.

But Kenya Human Rights Commission board member Kwamchetsi Makoha warned that large compensation payouts have historically done more to silence accountability demands than to deliver justice.

"From history, every time we have this generous compensation of assistance to victims, we just de-escalate the conversation around violence," said Makoha.

Ogangah noted that the country must confront the full cost of violent protests, including loss of life, injuries and damage to national stability.

Ruto, receiving the report, pledged to implement the framework's recommendations and called for an end to what he described as a recurring cycle of violence that has weakened democracy and hurt ordinary citizens.