National Assembly minority leader Junet Mohamed has defended the planned compensation for victims of police brutality, saying it aligns with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) agenda.
Junet said ODM has long argued, since 2007, that victims of post-election and protest-related violence should receive compensation for their losses, even as authorities pursue justice and work to bring perpetrators to book. He criticized leaders, including some within his Orange party, who have questioned the compensation plan, saying ODM has spent the past two decades pushing for restorative justice.
He added that even after the 2018 handshake, ODM repeatedly demanded that the state compensate victims of the 2013 and 2017 post-poll violence, but the government never delivered on that commitment.
“Even after the 2018 handshake, we spent considerable time demanding the state compensates the victims of the 2013 and 2017 post-poll violence. Needless to say, the government never compensated the victims,” he said.
After the formation of the broad-based government in 2024, the Suna East MP said ODM renewed its calls for compensation not only for those earlier years but also for the losses from 2023 and 2024. He said the state showed willingness to compensate promptly while still pursuing the perpetrators.
Junet also dismissed objections, saying that people who insist compensation should only happen after prosecutions effectively oppose compensation for victims in the first place.
“This time round, the state showed willingness to compensate in the first instant, even as it pursues the perpetrators,” he said.
“Those today claiming the compensation of victims must only come after the perpetrators have been prosecuted are merely saying they do not want the victims to be compensated at all.”
Junet said most people driving the push for compensation, especially ODM rebels he described as acting without a cause, initially placed the issue at the forefront, so much so that they threatened to pull the party out of government. He questioned what had changed since then.
“It cannot be that in our country, the endless suffering of our people continues being used as the main currency to transact national politics. Compensation has been a key grievance of our party ODM for many years.”
Junet argued that the party still pursued compensation even during the period when President William Ruto belonged to ODM, but the efforts repeatedly failed.
He pointed to the state’s approach to resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs) through land purchases, saying no one opposed it at the time. “Was justice irrelevant then?” he asked. He added that from 2007 to date, many families have endured immense suffering and deserve closure for the lifelong injuries, deaths, and destruction they faced. He said restorative justice still counts as justice.
The Suna East MP also maintained that a true ODM leader cannot oppose compensation for party supporters and other innocent Kenyans who suffered political violence during the party’s long years of protest.
Junet said ODM has allocated Sh2 billion in the FY2026–27 budget to compensate victims. He urged families and individuals who suffered in past protests to reach out to the nearest Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) offices.
“We allocated in the FY2026-27 budget the sum of Sh2 billion to compensate victims, and I urge families and individuals who suffered in the past protests to reach out to the nearest KNHRC offices,” Junet said.
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