ARTICLE 19 has been a key voice in highlighting human rights violations against human rights defenders, journalists, and activists in Kenya. Since 2024. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa has joined civil society organisations and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) in documentation human rights violations in the context of protests, elections, and other key human rights situations in the country. In April 2026, ARTICLE 19 directly engaged and made formal submissions to the KNCHR Reparations Guidelines.
Kenya has an extensive history of citizen participation in protests and demonstration against a range of key issues, including vague laws on public order management, police non-compliance with assembly guidelines, use of excessive force in management of demonstrations, and unlawful arrests and detention of protesters. The KNCHR and the Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG-K) have been at the forefront of documenting and investigating human rights violations, with their chief aim being to seek justice and accountability for victims and their families. In 2024 and 2025, the June-July protests led by young people focused significantly on concerns about governance, access to information, and police injustice. In these instances, the government of Kenya’s abuse of office led to significant loss of life and human rights violations.
On August 26 2025, the President of Kenya, H.E. William Ruto, announced and gazetted a Panel of Experts to lead work on compensation for those affected by violence during protests and to design a framework for redress, initially tasked with operating under the Executive Office of the President for 120 days. The panel was set up with the aim of providing accountability and reparations for both civilians and security personnel affected by protests and police brutality between 2017 and July 2025, particularly following the 2024–2025 youth-led anti-government protests. The panel was to include representation from the Law Society of Kenya and Amnesty International Kenya.
However, civil society pushed back on this initiative on the basis that the KNCHR is constitutionally mandated to deal with human rights violations, and a case was instituted in court to halt the panel from proceeding. On 4 December 2025, the High Court in Kerugoya (Petition E010 of 2025, consolidated) affirmed that the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) holds the exclusive constitutional and statutory mandate to design reparations for human rights violations, invalidating a presidential committee. The court ruled that President William Ruto’s appointment of a special team to advise on compensation was unconstitutional.
On 6 March 2026, the president made a Proclamation and Gazette Notice, pursuant to Article 254(2) of the Constitution, requiring the KNCHR to submit a report containing a Framework for Compensation and Reparations to victims of human rights violations within sixty (60) days. The Commission initiated internal technical work by mapping areas most affected by protest-related and other human rights violations and started engaging key stakeholders so that a credible framework can be put in place to guide a transparent, accountable, and comprehensive reparations process.
In the stakeholder conversations, two main aspects came up that are key to the process. First, the proclamation was titled as a compensation plan, but the KNCHR was keen to expand the conversation to highlight reparations as an umbrella agenda, a just and effective reparations programme that includes compensation, restitution (restoring rights and status where possible), rehabilitation (medical and psychosocial support), satisfaction (acknowledgement, apology, memorialisation and truth-telling) and guarantees of non-repetition (institutional reforms to prevent recurrence of violations). Second, the proclamation was intended for victims of human rights violations and not limited to protest victims and situations. These means that the mandate covers all cases of violations perpetrated by public officers, yet no timeframe has been specified in the proclamation.
In April 2026, the KNCHR publicised a draft Reparations Guidelines seeking public participation. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa shared feedback, highlighting the following main issues:
- Mandate of Implementation of the Guidelines should be separate from the Independent Oversight needed for the process. The KNCHR has an opportunity to set up the structure or composition of the Implementing Agency to ensure balance of public interest and citizen representation, and the KNCHR would retain a supervisory mandate over the process and the implementing agency.
- Definition of a Violation and Case Admissibility: The Guidelines fail to define key human rights violations and what would qualify to be addressed by the Reparations system. Kenya has a robust criminal law and Penal Code; therefore, some cases would be addressed within the usual court process.
- Review and Repeal Process: The Guidelines provide limited reasons for an internal review of the decision by the Implementing Actor, but the standard set to qualify for appeals in a court process are ‘new facts not earlier available,’ which is the set legal standard in Kenya. The Guidelines need to clearly define and distinguish the grounds for review and grounds for appeal.
- Advisory Schedule on Misapplied Laws and Systemic Violations: ARTICLE 19 proposes that a detailed schedule be drafted and annexed to identify specific Kenyan laws and administrative guidelines that have been misapplied or abused, thereby contributing to the very violations the Guidelines seek to address. This schedule would serve as an advisory tool, providing critical insight into the structural and legal foundations of such abuses, and informing necessary reforms to prevent recurrence of human rights violations.
The right to reparations is a fundamental principle of international human rights law, entitling victims of gross violations to remedies including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. It aims to repair harm, restore dignity, and address root causes of violence, holding states responsible for violations. Victims have a right to reparation.