The High Court has ordered the government to reserve Sh105 million from the compensation fund for victims of enforced disappearances, torture, and abductions until it determines a petition contesting their exclusion from the programme.
In an order issued on Tuesday, August 11, Justice Gregory Mutai said the petitioners had raised serious constitutional questions regarding the process used to verify which victims qualified for compensation.
“The first and second respondents are hereby ordered to set aside Sh105 million out of the compensation fund for purposes of compensating the victims of enforced disappearances and torture and abductions pending the hearing and determination of the instant petition,” Judge Mutai ruled.
Gideon Kibet, Ronny Kiplangat, and eight others sued the State to challenge what they described as the unlawful exclusion of 35 verified victims of enforced disappearance from a government compensation programme.
The case grew out of the state’s compensation and reparation programme for victims of human rights violations. The programme followed the appointment of a panel of experts and subsequent presidential proclamations on how victims would be processed.
The petitioners applied for conservatory orders to halt the compensation and reparation exercise until the court hears and determines their case.
The petition named several respondents, including the KNCHR, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims, the Attorney General, and the Law Society of Kenya.
The petitioners challenged the authentication process introduced to determine which victims would receive support under the compensation programme.
Justice Mutai said the case presented an arguable constitutional question on whether the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims had the legal authority to carry out the authentication exercise it claimed to be performing.
He added that the court would need to assess whether the KNCHR-prepared list of victims constituted a conclusive basis; otherwise, victims could end up without an effective remedy.
Justice Mutai also criticized the exclusion of victims of enforced disappearances and abductions from the categories the government identified for compensation.
He noted that government communications released in June and July 2026 listed victims of fatalities, severe injuries, moderate injuries, minor injuries, and aggravated sexual offences as part of the programme.
“What is missing from this list is victims of enforced disappearances. I’m of the opinion that enforced disappearances and abductions are more deserving of prioritization than the group entitled moderates and minor injuries,” the judge observed.
“The exclusion of victims of enforced disappearances and abductions raises a genuine concern.”
The court found that the petition could become meaningless if the compensation process continued without constitutional safeguards for the excluded victims. As a result, the court temporarily restrained relevant state agencies from implementing or relying on the contested authentication process used to verify victims of torture and enforced disappearances under the presidential proclamation.
Justice Mutai also ordered the setting aside of Sh105 million from the compensation fund for victims of enforced disappearances and torture.
However, the judge stopped short of halting the entire compensation program.
