ODM party leader Oburu Oginga has defended the government’s compensation of victims of past protest-related violence, urging affected families to accept the payments while insisting that financial support and justice for perpetrators should go hand in hand.

Speaking during a press briefing in Kisumu on Friday, June 26, Oburu dismissed criticism from leaders opposed to the compensation programme, saying no amount of money can replace a life, but the payments provide much-needed relief to families that have borne the brunt of political violence.

“There is no amount of money that can compensate for human life. Whatever is given is just a token to say pole to the families. There is nothing that can replace a child or a loved one,” he said.

Oburu said many beneficiaries of the compensation programme come from Nyanza, Western Kenya, and the Coast, regions whom he said had historically suffered economic and political marginalisation and consequently recorded many victims during periods of political unrest.

He revealed that ODM played a role in persuading the government to begin compensating victims and expressed concern over calls urging beneficiaries to reject the payments.

“These families are not rich families. They are among the poorest in our society, and they should be allowed to receive what is due to them. For someone living in the village, one million shillings is not peanuts,” he said.

Legal justice

He argued that those advising victims to reject compensation should instead help pursue legal justice on behalf of affected families rather than deny them immediate assistance.

“How does a person in the village pursue justice? It is you to pursue that justice for him or her. But for them, you must allow them to receive what is being offered because this is part of justice,” he said.

The ODM leader maintained that compensation should not replace criminal accountability, calling for all perpetrators of protest-related killings and injuries to be prosecuted.

“The next justice is to condemn the perpetrators of these crimes. Some have been taken to court and those who have not should also be taken to court,” he said.

Oburu said the government’s willingness to compensate victims demonstrated that it was listening to public concerns, adding that dialogue should always be prioritised where progress is being made.

“You only demonstrate when somebody is not listening. When somebody is listening, why do you demonstrate?” he posed.

June 25 commemoration

He also defended the calm witnessed during the June 25 demonstrations, saying many Kenyans deliberately chose peace after repeated appeals for restraint.

“The calm was not an accident. It was a deliberate choice. It was the direct result of our people responding to repeated calls for peace, national stability and true leadership,” he said.

He thanked ODM supporters across the country for staying away from what he termed uncoordinated street protests, saying their discipline demonstrated the party’s political maturity.

“The ODM movement remains strong, united, and structurally sound. Our political capital is intact, our organisation is disciplined and our leadership is resolute,” he said.

Oburu criticises the media

Oburu also criticised sections of the media for what he described as unbalanced coverage of the June 25 protests, accusing them of focusing almost exclusively on events around Parliament in Nairobi while ignoring developments in other parts of the country.

“The reporting concentrated on Nairobi. They did not report what was happening in Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret and other major centres. Kenya should have been reported as a whole,” he said.

He urged journalists to remain objective by reporting both positive and negative developments, saying the media has a responsibility to protect both ordinary citizens and those in authority.

ODM-UDA coalition

Turning to the 2027 General Election, Oburu confirmed that ODM is working towards a coalition agreement under the broad-based political arrangement with the Kenya Kwanza administration.

He said formal negotiations are yet to begin because the legal timelines for registering coalitions with the IEBC have not arrived but disclosed that discussions are ongoing internally.

“ODM will definitely be in government, and we are going to fight for it. We are negotiating for a political association that will end up in a coalition government next year,” he said.

He said the party would not make public details of its negotiations to avoid giving political opponents an opportunity to undermine its strategy, adding that coalition arrangements would be finalised before the end of the year.

Oburu appealed to ODM supporters, particularly in the Luo Nyanza region, to continue supporting the broad-based government and the party as it positions itself for the 2027 General Election.