President Ruto has directed the government to complete compensation for victims of past protests by June this year.
Speaking on Tuesday during a joint parliamentary meeting bringing together leaders from the United Democratic Alliance and the Orange Democratic Movement, the president said the government has set aside KSh2 billion to support the compensation process.
The funds have already been included in a supplementary budget that has been forwarded to Parliament for approval.
Ruto said the government, working with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, has already identified many of the people who were affected during protests over the past several years.
“I took the first step and gazetted a victims’ compensation panel. Even as the courts held it, we continued doing some work. We have identified all the victims and profiled their names. We have a comprehensive list of victims from the protests since 2017,” the president said.
According to Ruto, the compensation plan will cover victims of protests that happened between 2017 and 2024, not just those affected in 2024 as earlier expected.
He explained that the government hopes the exercise can be completed before June if Parliament approves the funds.
Recently president had asked the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to prepare a framework that will guide on victim compensation.
The issue of compensating protest victims was also part of the 10-point agreement reached between UDA and ODM after the 2024 protests that led to the formation of the broad-based government.
Earlier in 2025, the president had formed a panel to handle the compensation process. However, the courts later dismissed the panel, saying the responsibility should instead be handled through the human rights commission.
With the new timeline now set, victims of past protests, including families of those who lost their loved ones are expected to begin receiving compensation once the process is completed.
Ruto, however, admitted that while the compensation is meant to support affected families, no amount of money can replace a life that was lost.
