The Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo has resigned from President William Ruto’s Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests.
Faith had been appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Panel.
The Panel was constituted of distinguished Kenyans who have made tremendous contributions in championing the Rule of Law and Human Rights in Kenya.
The proposed mandate of the Panel presented an opportunity to overhaul the existing legal and institutional framework on victim reparations, which, as it stands, has proven inadequate in addressing public concerns over the historic crisis of police overreach and protestor victimisation during demonstrations.
“As resilient as the resolve of the Law Society of Kenya has been in upholding the rule of law throughout Kenya's history, especially in the last two years, my oath of office demands that I do all it takes to preserve such resilience from any and all adversaries and detractors,” she said.
“Accordingly, I have today handed in my formal and immediate resignation from the position of Vice Chairperson of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests to the Head of Public Service.”
Odhiambo said her resignation from the Panel takes cognisance of the crucial point at which Kenya finds itself in the quest for full constitutional implementation and lasting reform to our democratic context.
She called on the Law Society of Kenya to remain unified and resolute in discharging the mandate bestowed upon it by law.
According to Odhiambo, the time-bound mandate of the Panel has been stopped by the Courts, and the proposed 120-day tenure of the Panel is likely to lapse before the matter is resolved and settled.
She said that while the clock runs down on the Panel's lifetime, victims continue to reach out to her in total frustration over when their requests for an audience with the Panel will be honoured.
“Unfortunately, it is not feasible to achieve the time-sensitive milestones I undertook to achieve, and I must therefore prioritise other avenues of responding to the plight of victims through the other positions I hold, especially the leadership of the LSK,” she said.
“My commitment to agitate for the rights of victims remains impregnable; I will continue to take up and prosecute matters on behalf of victims of police excesses during demonstrations, and work towards safeguarding holistic justice for victims.”
On Monday, a team of LSK advocates met in Kisumu Court for the hearing of one of the matters on behalf of victims of police excesses during the 2023 demonstrations against the cost of living.
Odhiambo said LSK will be moving the courts and seeking the intervention of the leadership of the Judiciary to expedite proceedings with a view to concluding them as soon as practicable.
“It is not lost on me that there remains a significant gap in our victim reparations framework which must be addressed urgently. LSK will forthwith engage all justice stakeholders and Human Rights institutions, to formulate legislative proposals to reconcile the infirmities in our laws and institutions that have left victims prejudiced and short-handed in their quest for justice,” she said.
She said LSK’s proposals will be focused on ensuring that they transform Kenya's approach in dealing with victims of police excesses and state overreach, from the current protracted process of apportioning criminal liability to an efficient and victim-centred approach of rehabilitating Victims and restoring them to a life of dignity and purpose.
