Ruto appoints Faith Odhiambo to co-chair panel of experts on compensation of protest victims
The 15-member panel will be chaired by his constitutional advisor, Prof Makau Mutua, with Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo serving as vice-chairperson.
President William Ruto has appointed a panel of experts to lead the process of compensating victims of demonstrations, public protests, and riots across the country.
In a Gazette Notice published on Tuesday, Ruto stated that the panel will implement the presidential proclamation by establishing a framework for identifying, verifying, and supporting affected individuals.
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The 15-member panel will be chaired by his constitutional advisor, Prof Makau Mutua, with Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo serving as vice-chairperson.
Other members include Kennedy Ogeto, Houston Irungu of Amnesty International Kenya, Dr John Olukuru, Rev Kennedy Barasa Simiyu, Dr Duncan Ojwang’, Naini Lankas, Dr Francis Muraya, Juliet Chepkemei, Pius Metto, Fatuma Kinsi Abass, and Raphael Anampiu.
The technical team will be led by Richard Barno, supported by Dr Duncan Okelo Ndeda as Co-Technical Lead, while Jerusah Mwaathime Michael and Dr Raphael Ng’etich will serve as joint secretaries.
According to the gazette, the Panel’s mandate includes designing an operational framework to verify and categorise victims, authenticating data from authoritative institutions such as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the National Police Service, and the Ministry of Health, and recommending appropriate reparations.
Where evidence allows, the panel will propose prosecutions and other accountability measures to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). It will also engage with families of victims, civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, and other stakeholders to ensure the compensation process is fair, inclusive, and transparent.
“In the discharge of its mandate, the Panel shall have the power to access information and records from any State organ or public office subject to law, as well as require the attendance of any person or institution to provide information or documents,” the notice states.
The panel is expected to complete its work within one hundred and twenty (120) days from the date of the gazette, subject to extension if necessary.
Funding for the Panel and the compensation scheme will be provided in line with the Public Finance Management Act and other applicable laws, using auditable payment channels. The panel is also required to maintain transparent accounts, keep records sufficient for independent audits, and publish anonymised statistics and progress updates.
The secretariat of the Panel of Experts will be based on the Ground Floor of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi, with official correspondence directed to P.O. Box 30510–0100, G.P.O. Nairobi.
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