The High Court has issued orders temporarily suspending the functioning of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests appointed by President William Ruto.
In orders issued by Justice Kizito Magare on Monday, the court granted conservatory measures halting the commencement of the panel’s mandate pending the hearing of a petition challenging its legality.
The court specifically suspended the implementation of Gazette Notice No. 12002 dated August 25, 2025, which had officially formalised the appointment of the panel. This followed a petition filed by Lawyer Levi Munyeri.
"It is hereby ordered that a conservatory order to stay the commencement of the mandate of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests pending the hearing of this Application inter partes," Justice Magare's directives read in part.
The body, which has stirred significant political debate across the country, particularly following the appointment of LSK President Faith Odhiambo as co-chair, was mandated to develop a framework for reparations and compensation for victims of demonstrations, public protests, and riots.
Further, Justice Magare restrained the respondents, their agents, and assignees from enforcing or acting upon the proclamation made by President Ruto on August 6, 2025, which had established the framework for compensation.
Respondents and interested parties in the case, which include, among them, the State Law Office and the Ministry of Interior CS, have also been ordered to file their submissions within three days of receiving the applicant’s documents, with a final cut-off time set for September 30, 2025.
The matter has been scheduled for directions on October 6, 2025, before the Kerugoya High Court.
The 15-member panel, chaired by Ruto's Constitutional Advisor, Professor Makau Mutua, with LSK's Odhiambo serving as vice-chairperson, has risked polarising the advocates' body, with a section of its members and senior advocates maintaining that it usurped the functions of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
On Friday, Munyeri, the petitioner in the case before the High Court, challenged Odhiambo to resign from her role at the LSK after accepting an appointment to a panel. He had vowed to file a petition seeking her removal if she failed to resign from her position as LSK boss.
''It is a personal decision for Faith Odhiambo to serve Ruto in an unconstitutional Panel of Experts. However, she must resign as the President of LSK, failure to which we will file an urgent motion to eject her as LSK President,'' Munyeri noted.
On her part, in an emotionally worded speech delivered during the panel's swearing-in on Thursday last week, Odhiambo dismissed claims that by accepting the role, she had betrayed Kenyans.
She maintained that her decision was informed by a duty to safeguard justice and the rule of law while ensuring that victims of protests receive a fair hearing.
