President William Ruto has announced that victims of protests in Kenya will receive compensation by June this year, with Sh2 billion allocated in the 2025/26 supplementary budget. He stated that the process to identify eligible individuals has been completed by IPOA and KNCHR. He spoke during a meeting of UDA and ODM MPs at KICC.
President William Ruto spoke yesterday at the KICC hall during a meeting of the UDA and ODM MPs group. The meeting aimed to evaluate the implementation of Agenda 10 from the agreement between him and the late ODM leader Raila Odinga, signed on March 7, 2025. It was attended by Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki, ODM Chairman Dr Oburu Oginga, and MPs supporting the inclusive government.
The president stated that the victims eligible for compensation are those who participated in protests following the 2017 and 2022 elections, as well as the Gen Z protests in 2024. “We have identified the affected individuals through KNCHR and IPOA, and the list starts from 2017. Parliament now has the task of approving the Sh2 billion to facilitate these payments,” said Ruto.
The compensation process initially faced legal obstacles, but the court issued guidance for payments. Last week, the government published the names of committee members to oversee the payouts. “It is our belief that we will resolve this issue by June unless something unforeseen occurs,” the president added.
Furthermore, he said the government is committed to protecting protesters to prevent future violence and loss of life. “We are not stopping here but looking ahead because protests are a right of Kenyans and must be protected,” he stated. In the Agenda 10 report, IPOA has handled 820 police brutality cases, with 49 officers convicted in 35 cases. The Interior Ministry has issued policies against excessive force, and a bill to regulate protests has been proposed.
Opposition leaders and rebels within ODM have used this compensation issue to criticize the agreement between the president and Raila as unfulfilled.
