Court orders Sh105m compensation kitty for abduction victims

The High Court has ordered Prof Makau Mutua-led panel of experts to set aside Sh105 million for purposes of compensating victims of abductions and torture, in case they win a petition they have filed.

Further, Justice Gregory Mutai blocked the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Human Rights Violations and other parties involved in the compensation process from acting on the purported authentication process introduced for the verification of victims of torture and enforced disappearances.

Victims of abductions led by Gideon Kibet, Ronny Kiplangat and eight others claim that victims of enforced disappearance were not considered during the verification process.

They submitted that the panel introduced a fresh "authentication processes", which they claim locked out victims whose claims had already been verified by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR).

“Secondly, the first and second respondents are hereby ordered to set aside Sh105 million out of the compensation fund for purposes of compensating the victims of enforced disappearances and torture and abductions, pending the hearing and determination of the petition,” said the court.

The victims of abductions claimed that the government's decision to exclude them from the compensation framework is unlawful, discriminatory and unconstitutional.

They argued that the omission is not an administrative oversight but a deliberate decision that denies eligible victims justice and undermines the integrity of the reparations process.

They argue that every victim of state violence is entitled to equal treatment under the Constitution, regardless of the circumstances of the violation.