After 13-year wait, four survivors of post-election sexual violence receive Sh16 million compensation

After waiting more than a decade, four survivors of post-election sexual violence have finally received compensation from the government, in what marks the country’s first official payout for conflict-related sexual abuse.

The Sh16 million compensation was awarded to four of the eight survivors in Petition 122 of 2013, following a High Court ruling delivered in December 2020.

The payment comes 13 years after the petition was filed and signals a significant milestone in Kenya’s response to sexual violence and the broader struggle for justice and accountability.

The four survivors who received the payout were either assaulted by security officers or had reported their cases to police, who failed to investigate.

The court had in 2020 found the state liable for failing to protect them and uphold their constitutional rights.

This partial payment, which excludes accrued interest, is seen by civil society groups and the survivors themselves as a long-awaited step towards recognition, dignity, and healing.

“This moment is not just about financial redress, it is about recognition, healing, and setting a precedent that the state is obligated to effectively investigate, prosecute and provide reparation for conflict-related sexual violence,” the groups said on Friday in a joint statement.

The joint statement was issued and signed by the Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW), Independent MedicoLegal Unit (IMLU), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Utu Wetu Trust, Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), REDRESS Trust, the Constitution Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), and the Global Survivors Fund.

The petitioners first went to court in 2013, seeking accountability for the sexual violence they endured during the 2007–08 post-election crisis.

The judgment found the state responsible in only four of the eight cases, three involving violations by security forces and one where police failed to act. The remaining four survivors, who were assaulted by non-state actors, were excluded from the ruling.

To challenge this, the survivors filed Civil Appeal E645 of 2021, arguing that the state must also be held accountable for failing to prevent or respond to abuses committed by civilians.

Although the Court of Appeal has twice postponed its ruling, hope remains strong that justice will be delivered to the remaining four survivors.

“We will remain with the survivors until the appeal judgment is delivered and the excluded survivors are compensated. We will remain with them until the state fulfils its responsibility to all survivors of sexual and political violence in Kenya,” the statement adds.

Civil society organisations say this first payout is a turning point, but not the end. They are now calling on the government to adopt a reparations policy, operationalise the Restorative Justice Fund, implement the Victim Protection Act, and ensure compensation for other survivors of torture and sexual violence across the country.

International Justice Day may have been marked on July 17, but the statement stresses that survivors have lived with delayed justice for years. “Justice has never followed a calendar,” it reads.

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• After 13-year wait
• four survivors of post-election sexual violence receive Sh16 million compensation

Survivors, the groups say, have shown immense courage and determination by continuing to speak out and pursue justice in a country that for years turned a blind eye.

“I thought I would die before receiving my court-ordered compensation. Many thanks to the Government of Kenya for humanising me and for hearing our cry,” one survivor said, as quoted in the statement.