Activists, families push State to pay millions for protests victims

A police officer kicks a tear gas canister during protests against the Finance Bill 2024 in Nairobi on June 25, 2024. [AFP]

The government is now being pushed to pay up to Sh5 million in compensation for deaths and missing persons.

Families and activists are also seeking Sh4 million for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in a fresh push to revise the government’s proposed reparations framework.

Speaking in Nairobi Wednesday, survivors, families of victims of the 2024–2025 Gen Z protests and human rights defenders outlined a more expansive and inclusive compensation model than the one proposed by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

They proposed Sh3 million compensation for cases of enforced disappearance where victims were later returned.

Victims who suffered amputations or permanent disabilities should also receive at least Sh3 million in addition to full medical coverage, while those subjected to wrongful arrest and detention should be compensated Sh250,000.

The groups insisted that all compensation be tax-free and separate from medical expenses, which they said must be fully covered by the State.

They also called for financial management support for beneficiaries to ensure sustainability of the awards.

“While we acknowledge the efforts by KNCHR to initiate a reparations framework, we are deeply concerned that the current Draft Guidelines risk being rushed, exclusionary and shaped by political expediency rather than a genuine commitment to justice,” said Shakira Wafula.

Key concern is the proposed 90-day timeline for the entire reparations process, which they termed unrealistic.

Instead, they want the timeline extended by at least another 90 days, with clear phases including registration, verification, validation and payment.

“The process must not be rushed at the expense of justice,” said Gillian Munyao, mother to Rex Masai, who was the first casualty during the Gen Z protests in June, 2024.

She noted that a hurried approach could exclude legitimate victims and undermine confidence in the exercise.

Beyond financial compensation, the groups called on the government, through the President, to issue a formal and unequivocal public apology for human rights violations committed during the protests.

The apology, they said, should be directed to victims and their families and accompanied by concrete guarantees of non-repetition.

Such guarantees, they noted, must include security sector reforms, accountability for perpetrators and strict adherence to constitutional and human rights standards.

“The president should invite us to the State House and listen to the concerns and issue an apology,” said Monicah Mwende, sister of Karani Muema who disappeared without a trace. 

They also urged that all information collected during the reparations process be preserved and used to support criminal investigations and prosecutions, rather than being treated as mere administrative records.

On recognition and memorialisation, the groups proposed that June 25 be officially gazetted as a public holiday to honour those killed during the protests, alongside the establishment of a national monument for victims.

“State apologies must be accompanied by official commendations and recognition of victims as defenders of justice and democracy,” the group proposed.

They further demanded inclusive access to reparations, warning against exclusion based on cultural or religious practices such as refusal to conduct autopsies adding that alternative forms of evidence, including community testimony and religious records, should be accepted.

In addition, they called for the expunging of criminal records for individuals arrested during the protests.

The activists also urged KNCHR to clearly differentiate between categories of violations such as victims who disappeared and later returned, those who remain missing, and those who sustained varying degrees of injury to ensure fair and proportionate compensation.

As victims, families and defenders of human rights, we remind Kenyans that reparations are not charity. They are a right grounded in justice, dignity and accountability,” said Jacinta Anyango, mother to Kennedy Onyango, a 12-year-old boy who was killed by police in Ongata Rongai.

“We call upon KNCHR and the Government of Kenya to listen to victims, to prioritize justice over timelines and to ensure that this process becomes a turning point in the country's human rights journey. Not another missed opportunity. The memory of those we lost demands nothing less,” she added.