Editor's Review
Justin Muturi has raised concerns over the latest protest victims compensation exercise after only one fatality had been recognised among 157 cases approved.
Democratic Party (DP) leader Justin Muturi has raised concerns over the latest protest victims compensation exercise after reports indicated that only one fatality had been recognised among 157 cases approved for compensation.
In a statement on Monday, November 9, Muturi questioned the credibility, integrity and transparency of the exercise, calling on Professor Makau Mutua and his Uwiano team to explain the findings and clarify how the reported number of deaths was established
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"I have noted with profound concern reports indicating that Professor Makau Mutua's Uwiano team has recognised only one fatality among the 157 cases recently approved for compensation. This figure raises serious questions about the credibility, integrity and transparency of the entire exercise.
"Kenyans deserve to know whether this is merely one approved case or an attempt to portray the deaths arising from protests as insignificant. Let nobody mistake the intelligence of Kenyans for forgetfulness," he wrote.
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Muturi further warned that presenting the figure as an account of deaths arising from the protests would undermine documented human rights violations and the suffering experienced by affected families.
"If this figure is being advanced as an account of the deaths arising from protests, it amounts to an industrial-scale cover-up of documented human rights violations and risks turning the compensation process into a human rights laundering service, sanitising atrocities and diminishing the suffering of victims and their families," he added.
Muturi cited findings by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), which documented 60 deaths during the June-July 2024 protests, with subsequent interim reporting recording at least 73 fatalities.
He also referenced reports by Human Rights Watch, which documented unlawful killings, disappearances and concealment of bodies, as well as independent documentation by Amnesty International on the deaths and grave human rights violations witnessed during the demonstrations.
According to Muturi, the reports and accounts of families who lost their loved ones could not be disregarded, noting that Kenyans witnessed young people being shot in the streets, bodies being collected and families being called to mortuaries to identify their relatives.
He called on Mutua and his team to publicly explain how their findings compared with the reports by the three human rights institutions and disclose the criteria used to identify individuals eligible for compensation.
"Professor Mutua and his team must explain how their findings reconcile with the independent investigations and reports of KNCHR, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. How many people were killed? How many families have been registered, verified or excluded? What criteria were used to determine eligibility for compensation? Were hospital, mortuary, post-mortem and IPOA records examined?
"I demand the immediate publication of the team's methodology, complete findings and an independently verifiable reconciliation of all reported deaths. Compensation must never become an instrument for rewriting history, sanitising human rights violations or shielding perpetrators from accountability. Kenya already has the Victim Protection Act, 2014, which must be fully implemented," he further said.
Muturi maintained that financial compensation alone would not address the suffering of families who lost loved ones during the protests, insisting that the process must be accompanied by truth, justice and accountability.
He argued that every reported death and disappearance needed to be investigated and those responsible for unlawful killings held accountable under the law.
"Professor Makau Mutua and the Uwiano team must stop underestimating Kenyans. We remember what happened, independent human rights organisations documented it, and no administrative exercise can erase that history. The dead must not be counted out of history," he concluded.
The government announced that 157 victims of human rights violations will receive a combined Ksh96.95 million in compensation following the processing and verification of claims under Phase VII of the compensation programme.
In a statement on Thursday, November 5, the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations said this phase of the compensation covers victims who suffered different categories of harm, including fatalities, aggravated injuries, severe injuries, moderate injuries, minor injuries and economic losses.
"In Phase VII of the compensation program, the Panel has processed claims under various categories of harm. This phase covers both civilian victims and uniformed officers who suffered human rights violations, including those arising from demonstrations and public protests," the statement read.
According to the breakdown released by the Panel, one claim was verified under the fatality category, attracting Ksh3 million in compensation.
Another claim under aggravated injury was allocated Ksh2 million, while three claims attracted Ksh1.5 million each, amounting to Ksh4.5 million.
A further aggravated injury claim attracted Ksh2.5 million, bringing the total compensation under the category to Ksh9 million across five claims.
Severe injuries accounted for 47 verified claims, with each claimant allocated Ksh1 million, translating to Ksh47 million.
Moderate injuries accounted for the largest number of beneficiaries, with 74 claimants set to receive Ksh500,000 each, totalling Ksh37 million.
The panel's Chairperson, Makau Mutua, also verified 19 claims involving minor injuries, allocating Ksh50,000 to each claimant, amounting to Ksh950,000.
Another 11 claims involving economic losses were allocated Ksh50,000 each, bringing the total to Ksh550,000.
The figures bring the total number of verified claims under Phase VII to 157, with the compensation amount standing at Ksh96.95 million.
The Panel said it was continuing to receive claims through designated official channels while making progress in verifying and processing applications from victims across the different categories of harm.
"The Panel continues to receive claims through various official channels and is making progress in processing and compensating claims across different categories of harm. We remain committed to ensuring that no eligible individual is left behind," the statement added.
