The second liberation hero Charles Rubia's Ksh40 billion demand for compensation has ended up in disappointment after the court awarded him a paltry Ksh26 Million.
In a report by the Business Daily on Wednesday, April 8, Rubia received 0.065 per cent of the amount he was seeking for the torture he underwent at the hands of State officers.
Justice Weldon Korir awarded him Ksh26 million with a view that the amount he had sought was not backed by any local decision or decree.
“It is obvious that what is sought in this petition is mind-boggling and I do not think that even the world’s best economies can meet or sustain such awards.
“After factoring inflation and considering that the deceased was detained twice unlike Matiba, I award the estate of the deceased a global sum of Ksh17 million as general damages for his unlawful detention and violation of his constitutional rights,” the judge ruled.
Rubia had sued the government on grounds that he had lost much in terms of business, health and his family left devastated after he was arrested and illegally detained by former President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
The court agreed that Rubia had been illegally detained after his first arrest in February 1987 on allegations that he was the financier of Mwakenya and for working in cohorts with church leaders to topple President Moi’s government.
Korir, however, ruled his second arrest on July 4, 1990, as legal given there was an order issued to that effect, leading to nine-month detention that saw him released on health grounds on the recommendation of the government physician.
Rubia together with the late Kenneth Matiba and Martin Shikuku had called for a rally at the Kamukunji Grounds and Rubia was arrested and detained three days before the rally.
According to reports, during his detention, Rubia was forced to sleep on a cold and dusty floor with inadequate blankets leading to a chest infection and severe loss of weight and overall deteriorated health.
Justice Korir noted that it was clear that Rubia was exposed to inhumane treatment that caused him physiological and psychological distress.
“Evidence on record was unchallenged and it follows therefore that the stress caused by the inhumane nature of the deceased’s detention was the catalyst for his thyroid disease,” he said.
The judge further awarded Ksh226,200 and sterling pounds 68,980 (Ksh9,001,754) being the costs of medical expenses and accommodation in London, leading to a total sum of Ksh26 million awarded.
According to the publication, among the investments and positions Rubia had to relinquish after detention, were Peponi School, Rweru General Stores, his directorship at Co-operative Bank and ICDC as well as Provincial Insurance, now known as UAP Insurance.
Rubia died on December 23, 2019, at the age of 95, and was buried on December 30 in his Murang'a home.
