Police join protest victims' Sh25.75m reparations payout

Prof. Makau Mutua, Chairperson of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations. [File,Standard]

A protest reparations panel has approved compensation for 49 police officers, awarding them Sh25.75 million alongside payments to civilians who suffered human rights violations.

The Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations  approved seven claims involving severe injuries, 37 for moderate injuries and five for minor injuries, according to an update issued Friday, August 7.

"In acknowledgement of the dedication by our uniformed officers to protecting the public, the Panel has resolved to grant appropriate compensation for the human rights violations they sustained during the period in question," the panel said.

The inclusion of police officers adds a new dimension to a compensation programme created against the backdrop of protests in which police conduct has faced scrutiny.

During protests between June 17 and July 7, 2025, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) recorded 65 deaths, 342 civilian injuries and 171 injuries to police officers.

IPOA said most of the deaths were linked mainly to police actions during crowd-control operations.

The compensation programme grew out of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) process, which sought to address political and governance tensions in Kenya.

The government later set aside Sh2 billion for victims of human rights violations linked to protests and other demonstrations between 2017 and 2025.

The panel reported that it has processed 680 claims and disbursed Sh896.1 million in compensation.

The panel listed three phases of payments as Sh448.7 million in the initial phase, Sh225.4 million in the second phase and Sh247.95 million in the third phase.

The latest phase covered 175 civilian victims and included 50 fatalities, 46 severe injuries, 49 moderate injuries, 21 minor injuries and nine economic-loss claims.

The panel reported total payments of Sh222 million for the phase.

However, 472 claims submitted through IPOA and KNCHR remain outstanding because applicants have not provided enough supporting documents.

The panel is working with IPOA regional offices to locate affected victims and their beneficiaries and obtain the documents required to process the claims.

The backlog includes 594 of the 600 economic-loss claims received by the panel. Only four have been processed and compensated.

The panel has also received nine claims under the sexual offences category. Eight have been processed and compensated while one remains pending.

Claims involving enforced disappearances remain under review because the panel says the cases require investigation and verification before they can be approved, referred for further investigation or declared ineligible.

The panel has also reclassified three claims from minor to severe after reviewing medical reports and additional submissions.

It approved above-scale compensation for five victims whose injuries it described as permanent and life-altering and said it would recommend that President Ruto include them in a government-funded lifetime medical scheme.