President William Ruto has named a 14-member panel of experts to oversee the compensation of victims of political protests dating back to 2017.
The panel, announced in a gazette notice on August 25, will serve for 120 days. It will be chaired by Professor Makau Mutua, the President’s senior constitutional affairs adviser. Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya, will act as vice chairperson.
Among those joining in an advisory role is Amnesty International Kenya’s executive director, Irungu Houghton. Amnesty’s board chairperson, Dr Stellah Bosire, welcomed his inclusion, urging the panel to go beyond payouts.
“Amnesty Kenya urges the panel to deliver a comprehensive reparations package,” she said in a statement. “It must include financial compensation, truth-telling, memorials, legal reforms, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition. Transparency and careful verification must guide the process, and the dignity and privacy of victims and their families must be protected.”
Bosire stressed that compensation should not be treated as a substitute for justice. “Compensation must not replace criminal accountability,” she added.
The panel includes figures from government, civil society, law, and faith groups. Among them are Dr Duncan Ojwang, who recently declined a controversial post at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, former Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, Reverend Kennedy Barasa, Fatuma Abass, Raphael Anampiu and former Sports Kenya director-general Pius Metto.
According to its terms of reference, the panel will verify victims’ claims, categorise cases, and recommend payments. It will also propose measures for accountability, including prosecutions where evidence exists, and suggest reforms to policing and protest management.
For families who lost loved ones or individuals left with lasting injuries, the panel’s work carries weight. How it balances financial redress with truth, justice and institutional reform will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.
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