Protesters carry their injured colleague during Saba Saba protests in Nairobi on July 7, 2025.
An initiative by President William Ruto to compensate victims of protests has sparked concern that the move might open a Pandora’s box.
Critics say that the compensation plan, which is being pushed by Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, could be difficult to manage.
They suggest that the initiative be implemented through the framework of the Victim Protection Act, rather than being part of a proposed 2027 coalition deal between the President and Mr Odinga.
President William Ruto addresses mourners during the burial of former Karachuonyo MP Phoebe Asiyo in Wikondiek Village in Homa Bay County on August 8, 2025.
Political scientist John Okumu said that the politics surrounding the compensation plan “heaps pressure on Mr Odinga, who has been leading protests that resulted in some of the casualties.”
“Mr Odinga, who is one of the victims, has already been compensated by being grafted into the broad-based government that was formed to suppress the blood, tears, and sweat of Gen Zs, who were demanding sensible and rational governance,” he argued.
Some say the approach risks creating a culture of “quantifying human life” after politically motivated brute force.
Former United Democratic Alliance secretary-general Cleophas Malala on Wednesday challenged the morality of the initiative.
“We want to know the value of life unfairly lost in State-sanctioned brute force. Let us say Sh10 million will be awarded for a life lost —can those pushing this idea agree to fundraise the amount, volunteer their own children to brutality, and accept the prize money?” he asked.
“Show us the law that quantifies human life, and the other law that empowers Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga to decide who is a victim, in what timeframe, and in what circumstances. They are usurping powers they don’t have.”
President Ruto, in honouring Mr Odinga’s demand for compensation, appointed Prof Makau Mutua to lead a process—within 120 days—to create a framework for compensating victims brutalised by State agents between 2017 and July 31, 2025.
President William Ruto's Senior Advisor on Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Prof Makau Mutua.
The preliminary scope covers individuals who lost loved ones, suffered injuries or incurred losses during public protests and riots.
However, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said victims of State excesses cannot be limited to the past eight years.
DCP Party leader Rigathi Gachagua during an exclusive interview with NTV at his Karen home on June 27, 2025.
“Some believe victims date back to the colonial era—freedom fighters who were brutalised, citizens dehumanised through detention and displacement, and land stolen. Closer in history, there are the 2007/08 post-election violence victims. We should not be mediocre about such a serious issue. We support compensation that is comprehensive, sane, and rooted in justice,” the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader said.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka dismissed the plan.
“You cannot be in a presidency that presides over abductions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and persecution, and later show up carrying paychecks,” he said.
Mr Kalonzo said that rogue police officers and their commanders must be prosecuted before any compensation is considered.
For Jonah Kariuki — the father of Boniface Mwangi, who was shot dead during protests in Nairobi on July 16 —the proposal is inadequate.
Face mask vendor Boniface Kariuki is rushed to hospital by protesters after he was shot by a police officer in Nairobi on June 17, 2025.
“You cannot murder us and then come to our families with money. It devalues human life. Governments must be just, listen to citizens, and avoid confrontations. They shouldn’t silence us through force,” Mr Kariuki said in an interview.
Prof Mutua defended the plan and compared it to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
“Transitional justice is a global concept. We are pursuing a structured framework to ensure accountability and fair compensation for victims,” he said.
People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua delivers her speech during the party's launch in Nairobi on February 27, 2025.
People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua criticised the approach taken by the State in the compensation plan.
“This government wants it to appear as if police murdering Albert Ojwang in custody, or shooting a young girl dead in her parents’ home in Kiambu, is a sport that earns the relatives prize money from the very people responsible. President Ruto must first disown allies who supported the killings of dissenters, apologise publicly for ordering protesters to be shot in the legs, disband killer squads, and begin real healing processes,” she said.
Former Attorney-General Justin Muturi also condemned the plan, citing his own experience.
“They kidnapped my son. When I demanded his release, President Ruto called the abductors, and he was freed. Now imagine the same President calling me to collect compensation for a trauma he authorised,” he said.
Politician Gloria Orwoba said the initiative is political theatre. “They are buying time, hoping Kenyans will forget before 2027,” she said.
Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo told the State to stop using shortcuts.
“We need the Victim Protection Board to oversee implementation of the Act and use victim impact statements, rather than political survival statements from Ruto and Raila,” he said.
