Victims of police brutality and other human rights abuses have challenged the government to reveal the names of those earmarked for compensation, arguing that openness is the only way to build confidence in a reparations programme they fear could be manipulated.
The demand was made on Tuesday by the Coalition of Victims and Survivors Against State Violence, which also unveiled plans for weekly vigils and demonstrations leading up to June 25, the date now being marked in memory of those killed and injured during last year's anti-Finance Bill protests.
According to the victims, the list of beneficiaries should be made public before any payments are released to eliminate doubts over who will benefit from the Sh2 billion programme announced by the government.
“The reason we are calling for the publicising of this list is because we don’t trust this government,” said Benard Kavuli, one of the victims of human rights violations.
The coalition said commemorative events would be held every Sunday across the country to honour victims of the June 2024 protests, which ended in bloodshed and left many families grieving.
“Vigils and demonstrations shall be held every Sunday preceding June 25 across the country as Kenyans unite in solidarity, remembrance and reflection on The Gen Z Liberation Day. The blood of innocent Kenyans shall never be forgotten. Justice delayed must not become,” the lobby said in statement read by Joshua Okayo, one of the victims.
The group further insisted that compensation should not be delayed any longer, warning that survivors and affected families are prepared to take to the streets if the government fails to release the funds as promised.
While acknowledging the government's decision to compensate victims, the coalition maintained that the move came only after sustained public pressure and years of demands for justice.
Their remarks followed Monday's announcement by the government that more than 1,000 victims of human rights violations, including those affected by excessive force and police brutality, will begin receiving compensation from next week.
President William Ruto said the State had approved a reparations programme and allocated Sh2 billion towards compensating victims, describing it as a step towards addressing painful events that have scarred the nation.
The victims said they had accepted the President's apology, but their lawyer Nick Karanja argued that a general apology was not enough and should be directed specifically to the people who suffered the violations and their families.
Okayo said the apology, though welcomed, could not erase the suffering endured by victims over the past two years.
“The government does not deserve applause for a forced apology two years after innocent Kenyans were abducted, maimed, tortured and killed under his watch and directive. No apology can erase the bloodshed, trauma and pain inflicted upon families whose only ‘crime’ was exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest,” he said.
Even as the reparations programme moves forward, concerns have emerged over the absence of measures to hold those responsible for the abuses accountable.
Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama noted that although the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights framework recognises different forms of reparations, including guarantees against future violations, it “does not set out a framework for ensuring accountability for perpetrators”.
Siaya Governor James Orengo also questioned whether compensation alone could deliver justice for families who lost loved ones or suffered injuries during demonstrations.
“If deaths and injuries resulting from demonstrations can be settled through predetermined compensation”, the urgency to prevent such violations diminishes,” Orengo said.
He added: “As long as there is no accountability by arrest and prosecution of the offenders, the reparations program only exists to legitimise the use of excessive force by attaching a financial cost to human life.”