President William Ruto has appointed a panel of experts that will oversee the implementation of compensation of victims of demonstrations, public protests, and riots.
In a gazette notice dated Monday, August 25, President Ruto appointed Prof. Makau Mutua to be the chairperson of the panel of experts. Prof. Mutua will be deputised by Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo Mony.
Members of the panel of experts include; Kennedy N. Ogeto, Irungu Houghton, Dr. John Olukuru, Rev. (Fr). Kennedy Barasa Simiyu, Dr. Linda Musumba, Dr. Duncan Ojwang’, Naini Lankas, Dr. Francis Muraya, Juliet Chepkemei, Pius Metto, Fatuma Kinsi Abass, and Raphael Anampiu.
Richard Barno will be the technical lead of the panel, while Dr. Duncan A. Okelo will be the co-tenchnical lead.
Jerusah Mwaathime Michael and Dr. Raphael Ng’etich will be the joint secretaries of the panel of experts.
What is expected of the panel of experts?
Terms of Reference of the Panel shall be to:
- Design and establish an operational framework to verify, categorise, and compensate eligible victims;
- Engage with relevant stakeholders, including families of victims, State institutions mandated to address human rights issues, civil society organisations, and religious institutions to ensure inclusivity and fairness in the compensation process;
- Authenticate data on eligible victims from authoritative sources including IPOA, KNCHR, the National Police Service, the Ministry of Health, and civil society;
- Where evidence so warrants, recommend reparations, prosecutions or other appropriate accountability measures to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and other relevant oversight bodies;
- Propose legislative and institutional reforms to address protests and culture of policing; and
- Prepare and submit to the President Periodic progress reports and a Final Report.
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;
- Require the attendance of any person or institution to provide information or documents;
- Constitute working groups;
- Co-opt technical experts, consultants, and technical resource persons;
- Regulate its own procedure, including quorum and decisionmaking; and
- Perform any other function ancillary to this mandate.
The Panel shall operate for a 120 days, or for such other period as may be specified in the Kenya Gazette.
Funding, financial accountability
According to the gazette notice, the funding for the Panel and the compensation scheme shall be provided in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act and any other applicable law, utilising auditable payment channels.
The gazette notice also states that the Panel shall ensure transparent accounting, maintain records sufficient for an independent audit, and publish anonymised statistics and progress updates.
Consequently, a Bureau for the Secretariat of the Panel of Experts shall be located on the Ground Floor of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). Its official mailing is P.O. Box 30510–
0100, G.P.O. Nairobi.
