Prof Mutua should face MPs for grilling on victims payouts

Presidential Victims Compensation Team chairman, Prof Makau Mutua. [File, Satandard]

The Presidential Victims Compensation Team chairman, Prof Makau Mutua, should appear before Parliament and answer serious questions regarding the status of compensation for victims of the 2024 anti-government protests.

For months, Prof Mutua has publicly stated that the compensation is progressing well and has even indicated that it has reached its third phase. These assurances have been widely reported in the media and have created the impression that victims are steadily receiving justice and financial support. Yet, testimonies from victims and their families paint a markedly different picture.

Take the case of “Stella” (not her real name), whose son was shot in the leg while returning from a nearby shop in a Nairobi suburb. He was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital, where, according to the family, hundreds of gunshot victims were receiving treatment across several wards. Ward 1D alone reportedly had over 50 patients with similar injuries.

Stella says her family submitted every document requested by the authorities. However, despite repeated announcements that victims have been compensated, neither her son nor any of the victims known to her have received any payment. According to her, victims organised themselves into WhatsApp groups based on the wards where they were admitted, while parents formed their own support groups.

She says that, to date, none of the members in those groups has received compensation, despite continuing to shoulder enormous medical expenses. Her son, for example, reportedly requires another surgical procedure, with the family still paying for his treatment. Her account also raises concerns about the transition of the compensation process. Following the court ruling that led to the disbandment of the Presidential Compensation Panel and the transfer of responsibilities to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, victims say the process became increasingly confusing. They were instructed to submit documentation to both the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

According to Stella, those institutions now tell victims that their role was limited to compiling reports and forwarding them to Prof Mutua’s team for further action. If these accounts are accurate, they raise troubling questions. Who exactly has been compensated? How many victims have actually received payments? What criteria were used to identify beneficiaries? How much public money has been disbursed, and to whom? If compensation has indeed entered its third phase, why do so many documented victims say they have received nothing?

Parliament exists to exercise oversight over public programmes and ensure accountability. A parliamentary appearance by Prof Mutua would not amount to a declaration of wrongdoing. Rather, it would provide an opportunity to present verifiable data, clarify the compensation process, explain any delays, and restore public confidence. The victims deserve more than reassuring press statements. They deserve transparency, accountability, and timely justice. Parliament should therefore summon Prof Mutua to explain the progress of the compensation programme, account for the beneficiaries identified so far, and address concerns raised by victims and their families. Until those questions are answered publicly and convincingly, doubts about the integrity and effectiveness of the compensation exercise will remain.

-Wiper Patriotic Front, Diaspora Secretary General