Makau Mutua-led compensation panel files appeal

Members of the panel of experts on compensation of protest victims, led by Prof Makau Mutua, take oath at KICC on September 4, 2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] The 14-member panel of experts appointed by President William Ruto to facilitate the compensation of demo victims has filed an appeal seeking to lift orders stopping it from acting. Other members in the Makau Mutua-led panel include Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo as deputy, Amnesty International's Irungu Houghton, former Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, Rev Kennedy Barasa, Linda Musumba, and Dr John Olukuru. Others are Dr Duncan Ojwang', Naini Lankas, Dr Francis Muraya Pius Metto, Juliet Chepkemei, Fatuma Abass and Raphael Anampiu. Richard Barno is the technical lead, together with Duncun Okela, with Jerusah Mwaathime and Raphael Ng'etich serving as joint secretaries. Through Mwaathime, the panel is seeking to have the Court of Appeal sitting in Nyeri lift orders issued by Justice Kizito Magare of the Kerugoya High Court. He argues that the petitioner Levi Munyeri did not inform Justice Magare that one of the petitioners in the matter, Dr Magare Gikenyi, is related to him putting the judge in a perplexing situation. In their appeal, Mwaathime says that the petitioner, Munyeri, was doing forum shopping since there had been two cases that had been filed in Milimani Law Courts. "The orders were irregularly obtained during recess in a matter that is sub judice, as two related petitions had already been filed before the High Court at Milimani," he says. He alleges that Munyeri did not reveal this to Justice Magare and ended up misleading him into issuing the orders. "By suppressing the existence of the Milimani petitions, the Petitioner engaged in clear forum shopping by abandoning the Nairobi forum and seeking orders in Kerugoya during recess, contrary to the principles of fairness, candour, and good faith in judicial proceedings." In his affidavit, Mwaathime says that the orders issued by Justice Magare "would unjustly paralyze this unprecedented mandate, deny long-overdue justice to victims, and defeat the very purpose for which the Panel was constituted". "It is a settled principle that conservatory orders cannot reverse or invalidate actions that have already lawfully taken place." He further says that the orders offend a long-standing presumption that acts of government and public authorities are legal and regular. Mwaathime added that the orders were issued without parties in the petition being notified, and if not lifte,d will greatly prejudice them. He added that it will undermine public interest in securing justice, accountability and redress of the victims of police brutality. According to Mwaathime, the orders should be lifted pending the hearing and determination of the application and main petition. He argues that no prejudice will be suffered by the petitioners but the panel and the victims of police brutality will suffer if not lifted. In the petition, Munyeri had argued that President Ruto had bypassed Parliament, which has the authority to provide for and budget for compensation. He added that it was not yet clear where the money to pay the victim would come from and how it would be accounted for. He further argued that the team was usurping the powers given to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). According to him, it is within KNCHR's mandate to verify victims, authenticate data from State organs, and compensate people whose rights had been violated. "Allowing the Executive to bypass or displace the Commission's functions by creating temporary bodies would defeat the purpose of constitutional entrenchment, because it would permit erosion of the Commission's independence, fragment institutional responsibility and risk arbitrary outcomes," he said. The hearing of the Court of Appeal case is set to take place on September 29, 2025.

Makau Mutua-led compensation panel files appeal

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