Families of Gen-Z protest victims still waiting for promised justice

Penina Mueni appears to be in deep thought, teardrops cascading down her face as she looks at a heap of soil that is slowly flattening due to erosion.

Beneath that heap of soil at their home in Arombo village, Kisumu County, lies the body of her son, 29-year-old Benson Ouma, who was shot nine times during the 2024 anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.

Her pain is glaring, and the hopes of ever getting justice for her son is drowning by the day.

Mueni is among several victims of President William Ruto administration’s violent crackdown on Gen-Z protestors that left several dead and others injured.

The family of some of the victims had been hoping for compensation as had been envisaged by ODM and UDA as part of the political deal that slowed down the Gen-Z uprising against Ruto.

They had hoped that the government would compensate them through the implementation of the ten-point agenda that was signed between President Ruto and late ODM leader Raila Odinga.

That hope now remains a mirage.

Interviews with several victims and families who lost their loved ones established that they feel duped by the government, with some claiming no one has ever bothered to reach out to them despite roadside declarations by politicians.

For the family of Ouma, the painful memories are still fresh. 

According to the family, Ouma was shot nine times, and he died of the injuries at the Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Mueni received news from one of her daughters when she was watching the news at night on the same day.

“When she called me, I was watching television. She broke the news but told me my son was in the ICU. I wanted to rush to the hospital but my daughter convinced me to stay and travel in the morning,” she recalls.

Breadwinner

According to Mueni, when she woke up the following day to go to the hospital, she received two visitors, who included her daughter and daughter-in-law.

“They brought home bad news. My son had already died. I asked them to call members of our church. They prayed for me, I could not feel my legs,” she explains.

She added: “My son was a Muslim and we were told that he would be buried the same day. So together with my church members, we went to bring him from JOOTRH morgue in Kisumu for his burial at home.”

Two years later, they have not heard from any authorities about the process of compensating the family.

“He was our breadwinner. He would send us money for food. He took care of my sister. He left his house which was under construction incomplete,” she adds.

Ouma’s family is not alone. Several families in Kakamega County say they are still waiting for justice, recognition, and compensation for the loss of their loved ones.

When the protests erupted, largely driven by young Kenyans angered by economic hardship and governance issues, the streets of towns including Kakamega Town, turned chaotic as demonstrators clashed with police.

Today, the demonstrations have faded from the national spotlight, but for families who buried their children or are still caring for injured relatives, the pain remains as real as the day the protests took place.

Maurice Shiramba, the father of Caroline Shiramba,34, who was fatally shot in Kakamega town during the protests, says the pain of losing his daughter remains raw.

“Since the day my daughter was killed, no government official has visited or called to talk about the compensation. One and a half years later, we are still waiting for justice,” Shiramba told The Standard.

Shiramba says the last time he had hope of getting compensation was when he was at the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to record statements.

“I only get calls from journalists. They are my only hope because since we recorded statements with IPOA no one has ever reached out to us, not even the government. I lost hope along the way,” he said.

Many of them say the promises made by leaders after the violence have not been fulfilled.

Among those promises were proposals contained in the report of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), which recommended that victims of protest-related violence be compensated and supported.

“We’ve been taken round in circles, and even IPOA, which once assured us it would pursue the matter, has since gone silent,” Shiramba says.

He wants President William Ruto to intervene and ensure that all victims of the June protests receive compensation and justice.

“The President should provide direction to affected families, through compensation or by bringing those responsible to account,” he said.

In a small home on the outskirts of Kakamega town in Buloma village, Mumias East Sub-County, a grieving aunt wipes dust from a framed photograph hanging on the wall.

The image shows her nephew smiling, a moment that once symbolised hope for the family’s future.

Instead, it has become a painful reminder of a life cut short.

Ian Sabatia, 17, was killed during protests in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, on June 25 and was laid to rest on July 11.

Sabatia’s aunt, Fatuma Makokha, who lived with him, said he had gone to the shop to buy nappies for her disabled baby when he met his death.

“I sent him to the shop at around 4pm. He never returned,” she said.

Sabatia was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries hours later.

His aunt says the family’s life has never been the same.

“When he died, it felt like the future we were building together had disappeared,” she said.

Family members say they expected that the government would reach out after the protests subsided.

But that call never came.

“No one has ever contacted us.We only heard on the news that victims would be compensated, but no one has come to ask about our situation,” she said.

The family also suffered double tragedy after 79-year-old Henry Opanga collapsed and died after receiving news that his grandson had been killed by the police.

“My father couldn’t handle the pain. When we told him, he just went quiet and collapsed,” Jackson Opanga, father to the deceased, said tearfully.

“The weak have no rights, and the poor have no justice. I cannot fight for my nephew’s justice  because everything is about bribery in this country,” he lamented.

Similar stories are told by families in other parts of Kakamega County, including Mumias and Butere, where relatives of victims say they feel abandoned.

For some families, the protests did not just claim lives but also left survivors with life-altering injuries.

Winfrey Adima,57, was among the seven who suffered gunshots in Kakamega despite not taking part in the demos.

Adima, a single mother of seven children, was shot in her right arm while she was washing clothes at her balcony.

“After I was shot in the arm during the demonstrations, I have struggled to recover ever since. The bullet shattered my bones and required several surgeries. I used to wash people’s clothes, but I cannot do it anymore. There has been no compensation or any communication from the government ever since,” said Adima.

Observers and politicians believe the compensation is a lost cause and claim the government is not committed to addressing the plight of the victims.

Political trick

Saboti MP Caleb Amisi said nothing in the Nadco report has been achieved or implemented, adding the only thing that has been achieved is the broad-based arrangement, which benefits a few individuals at the expense of the majority or Kenyans.

Vihiga Senator, who is also ODM Deputy party leader, Godfrey Osotsi accused Ruto and some ODM leaders of betraying Raila in death for failing to implement the Nadco report.

“The talk of compensation was a ruse, a political trick to hoodwink and mollify the nation at the controversial moment of the handshake between Raila and Ruto. Once the purpose was achieved, it became useless, like the rest of the points in the subsequent 10-point agenda,” said Osotsi.

“In Kenya, victims of political violence have so far been treated like gunpowder. They are no more than Cannon fodder, to be used by the political giants at the height of their disagreements,” says communication consultant Barrack Muluka.

Dismas Mokua, a political analyst, told The Standard that the Ruto administration has no option but to compensate the victims of the protests.

“The Kenya Kwanza administration has no alternative but to fully compensate victims of violence and ensure that architects of political violence take responsibility. Political violence must be condemned in the strongest terms possible,” he says.