Raila renews call for protest victims' compensation

ODM leader Raila Odinga has renewed calls for the government to compensate victims of the 2023 and 2024 anti-government protests, saying justice and closure are necessary for national healing.

Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay, he said the country cannot move forward without addressing the suffering caused during the demonstrations.

“I want to say today that we should do compensation to families of those who died and those who were injured. We want Kenyans to live in peace and unity,” Raila told the crowd.

The protests were sparked by rising living costs, tax increases and demands for electoral justice.

Many of the demonstrations were led by youth, including the Gen Z movement, and were met with a heavy police response.

“We have had several challenges in the country. Two years ago, we were on the streets, and a year ago, the Gen Zs were also on the streets,” Raila said.

According to Amnesty International Kenya, 65 people were killed, 89 forcibly disappeared, and thousands arrested during the 2024 protests.

The group’s 2025 State of Human Rights Report criticised what it called a slide toward authoritarianism and urged the state to deliver justice to victims and their families.

Raila said those who took part in the protests were not criminals but citizens demanding reforms.

He acknowledged recent efforts at reconciliation, including President William Ruto’s public apology during the National Prayer Breakfast on May 28, but said that must be followed by real action.

"I saw that during the prayer breakfast recently, there were apologies being made, by the Speaker and yourself [President Ruto], which is wonderful as a first step to reconciliation," Raila said.

“But there is the issue of people who are injured, the people who died during that time. I want to say today that we should do compensation... so that we can have a closure to this chapter of our national history.”

Ruto, who attended the Homa Bay event, has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Raila to form a broad-based government aimed at promoting unity.