Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has pledged to push for a justice system that prioritises victims of protests and police brutality, promising a faster, fairer, and more accountable process.
Speaking shortly after her swearing-in as Vice-Chair of the 15-member Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots, Odhiambo said her mission is to champion victims’ voices and ensure their struggles are no longer ignored.
“Holistic justice requires that, as we seek accountability from perpetrators, we remain alive to the needs of protest victims, and the difficulty of their lived realities,” she said.
The panel, gazetted in August 2025 by President William Ruto, is chaired by his constitutional advisor Prof Makau Mutua. It also includes Kennedy Ogeto, Houston Irungu of Amnesty International Kenya, Dr John Olukuru, Rev Kennedy Barasa Simiyu, Dr Duncan Ojwang’, Naini Lankas, Dr Francis Muraya, Juliet Chepkemei, Pius Metto, Fatuma Kinsi Abass, and Raphael Anampiu.
The technical team will be led by Richard Barno, with Dr Duncan Okelo Ndeda as Co-Technical Lead, while Jerusah Mwaathime Michael and Dr Raphael Ng’etich serve as joint secretaries.
Odhiambo highlighted her encounters with grieving families, including those of baby Pendo, killed during a police operation in Kisumu, saying victims’ pain cannot be erased by political rhetoric or endless court delays.
“Every conversation with inconsolable family members of victims who paid the ultimate price has proved whether a country can claim conscience when it harmed its own people,” she said.
Her priorities include memorialising victims, identifying and verifying both reported and unreported cases, supporting civil litigation, expediting prosecutions, and lobbying for legislative reforms to streamline compensation.
Odhiambo warned that Kenya must never again allow citizens to be killed for exercising their constitutional rights. “Never again shall Kenyans be killed by trigger-happy officers for expressing their rights on the streets,” she said.
She pledged that her leadership will be guided by the Constitution, moral duty, and the memories of victims, with communication lines kept open to families throughout the justice process.
 President Faith Odhiambo has pledged to push for a justice system that prioritises victims of protests and police brutality, promising a faster, fairer, and more accountable process.){kind=link}