Faith Odhiambo resigns from Ruto’s protest victim compensation panel

After weeks of mounting pressure, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has resigned from her position as vice chair of the government-appointed Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests.

In a statement shared with Citizen Digital on Monday, Odhiambo said she had tendered her “formal and immediate resignation” to the Head of Public Service, citing the need to safeguard LSK’s independence and unity amid ongoing legal and constitutional challenges.

The panel, established through an August 25 Kenya Gazette notice, was tasked with recommending compensation for victims of police brutality and violence during youth-led anti-government protests this year and last year, in which over 120 people were killed and hundreds more injured.

Odhiambo on Monday said she had accepted the role because it offered a chance to reform Kenya’s legal and institutional framework for victim reparations, which she described as “inadequate in addressing historic crises of police overreach.”

But she noted last month’s court order suspending the panel’s operations, making it impossible to meet its 120-day mandate.

“As things stand, the time-bound mandate of the panel has been stopped by our courts, and the proposed tenure is likely to lapse before the matter is resolved,” she said.

“Victims continue to reach out to me in total frustration over when their requests for an audience with the panel will be honoured.”

Instead, Odhiambo said, she would focus on advocating for victims through the Law Society, which is representing several families affected by police violence during the 2023 cost-of-living demonstrations.

“Our team of advocates is already in court in Kisumu for one of the cases involving victims of police excesses,” she said. “We will seek the Judiciary’s intervention to expedite these matters to a conclusion.”

The LSK president said the lawyers’ body is now focused on memorializing victims, identifying unreported cases, urging the Chief Justice to fast-track related court cases, and petitioning Parliament to strengthen laws protecting demonstrators and victims of police abuse.

“We must treat reparations for victims with the same seriousness with which we treat repercussions for perpetrators. May justice remain our shield and defender,” she said.

Odhimabo was heavily criticised for accepting President William Ruto’s appointment to the panel, which many saw as a betrayal, as she had until then been celebrated for leading the fight for police brutality victims’ justice.

She had also been at the forefront in fighting for the release of tens of youths abducted by security forces in the aftermath of the protests.

“I have in no way betrayed your trust,” she defended herself on September 4 during her swearing-in, “access to criminal justice remains critical to me in our quest to promote and protect the rule of law as an essential element in the enjoyment of the fundamental human rights and freedoms.”