President William Ruto’s advisor, and chairperson of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Protests, Makau Mutua, has endorsed Oburu Oginga’s call for swift judicial action on compensating families of youths killed during the 2024 Kenyan protests.

Mutua expressed his support via X, stating, “Thanks, Dr Oburu Oginga. Let those who have ears hear the voice of wisdom, empathy, and true leadership.”

The endorsement underscores ongoing debates over the implementation of the Ruto-Raila dialogue’s ten-point agenda, particularly regarding compensation for protest victims.

Oburu detailed the stalled progress in a video shared by Mutua, noting, “10-point agenda on which we agreed and signed between Ruto and Raila. The 10-point, one of the first ones to be implemented, was the compensation of our youths who were killed during demonstrations.”

He expressed frustration over delays, stating, “The process has started, it is stuck somewhere in the courts, but I’m asking the courts, please resolve that issue quickly because families are suffering, and they are expecting that money to be paid to them.”

Courts urged to expedite compensation

Oburu emphasised that the delay stems from judicial proceedings rather than government refusal. “If the government has refused to pay, that is another matter; we would have been annoyed, but now that it is the courts’ delay,” he said. He further pleaded, “courts please help us so that those people who suffered can get at least a little, it is not, you cannot compensate a life. You can only compare, you can only ameliorate it a bit and give some comfort to the families who loved, lost their loved ones.” He added, “I’m sure we are going to move from step to step until 2027.”

The ODM chair, also addressed political alignments, stating, “If things are implemented as agreed, we shall decide then whether to go into coalition or whether to convince some of you to join us or whether to join a coalition with the others. That is a clear position which was left, and if any other party members are talking a different language, that is up to them, that is up to them, but that is the particular position.”

Broader support and inclusion of IDPs

The compensation initiative is further supported by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, who explained Raila Odinga’s motivation, stating, “Let us create a context away from legal strictures, okay, which will allow for these Kenyans to feel they have been recognised as people who lost as Kenyans when we were fighting for a good Kenya.”

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga also called for judicial expediency during a memorial service, emphasising inclusion of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the compensation framework.

“We wanted to include the issue of IDPs in the compensation framework, especially those who were yet to be compensated and were from Nyanza. We wanted the compensation framework to include protest victims from 2017 to 2024, plus IDPs,” she said, highlighting the urgency of addressing court delays to ease suffering.