The Presidential Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests has filed an urgent application in the High Court at Kerugoya seeking to vacate conservatory orders that suspended its work.

The panel’s 18 interested parties have filed a Notice of Motion and Certificate of Urgency seeking to vacate the orders, warning that unless the matter is heard quickly, the panel’s lifespan will expire before its work is completed.

The orders, issued ex parte on September 8 by Justice Magare Dennis Kizito Ngwono, froze the panel’s activities, sparking fears that its 120-day mandate could lapse before victims receive compensation.

The panel, launched on September 4, 2025, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), was established to identify, verify, and compensate victims of protest-related violence dating back to 2017.

Amnesty International and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) have documented more than 180 deaths, including 63 during the 2024 Gen Z protests and 38 this year alone. Families who attended the launch recounted painful losses, urging the state to fast-track reparations.

Legal wrangles and petitions

The suspension followed a petition by Nairobi lawyer Levi Munyeri, who argued that the panel’s creation under Gazette Notice No. 12002 of August 25 was unconstitutional and bypassed existing institutions such as the KNCHR. His petition, filed during the judicial recess, alleged procedural flaws in the panel’s formation.

In response, the interested parties, including chairperson Makau Mutua and Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo, accused Munyeri of forum shopping and concealing material facts.

Documents filed on September 10 stated that Munyeri “concealed two earlier petitions” relating to the same matter and “misled and induced the learned recess duty judge, Magare J., into the perplexing situation of giving ex parte relief.”

The applicants warned that unless the orders are vacated urgently, the panel’s limited term would lapse “by effluxion of time.”

Mutua, who chairs the panel, confirmed the filing in a statement posted on X on September 11.

“The Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests has applied to the High Court in Kerugoya to set aside the ex parte conservatory orders issued on 8th September 2025,” he said.

Compliance

The Panel, in compliance with the court orders, had suspended its operations and will continue to comply with the court orders until further directions from the court,” he wrote.

Mutua earlier confirmed on September 11 that the panel would continue to comply with the court orders until further directions. In a televised interview, he said, “For the last two years, since these demos began, there has been a national consensus across the country that victims must be compensated.”

He added, “It looks to me to be quite hypocritical that the same people who have been calling for compensation, especially in the United Opposition, are now turning around to say that this effort is not genuine.”

Faith Odhiambo, the panel’s vice-chair, defended her role, stating, “It is my solemn patriotic duty and obligation to respect, uphold, and defend the Constitution of Kenya. Let it be clear that apart from the swearing in, I have not participated in any meetings or engagements with or for the Panel.”

She further called for the prosecution of “trigger-happy officers” while urging the withdrawal of “trumped-up terrorism charges against peaceful protesters.”