Raila renews push to compensate victims of anti-government protests

ODM leader Raila Odinga has renewed calls for the government to compensate victims of the 2023 and 2024 anti-government protests.

Raila urged President William Ruto’s administration to offer justice and closure to families affected by the violence.

Speaking during this year’s Madaraka Day national celebrations at the newly revamped Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay County, the veteran opposition leader struck a conciliatory tone but insisted that healing cannot occur without acknowledgement of past wrongs.

“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 packed stadium.

The 2023 and 2024 protests were sparked by public dissatisfaction over the rising cost of living, increased taxation, and demands for electoral justice.

The demonstrations, many led by youth, including the decentralised Gen Z movement, were met with a heavy police response, which human rights groups say involved arbitrary arrests, abductions, and the use of excessive force.

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

In its 2025 State of Human Rights Report, Amnesty condemned what it described as a slide toward authoritarianism, calling on the state to deliver justice for victims and families.

Raila emphasised that the protesters were not criminals but citizens pushing for reform.

“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,” he said, alluding to both his party-led demonstrations in 2023 and the youth-led protests in 2024.

He welcomed recent gestures by Ruto, including his public apology to the youth during the National Prayer Breakfast on May 28, 2025, but insisted that apologies must be accompanied by 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 noted.

“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 was also present at the ceremony, has in recent months taken a more conciliatory approach, signing a memorandum of understanding with Raila in March 2025 to form a so-called “broad-based government” aimed at national unity.