The Supreme Court on Friday, January 27, ordered the government to award seven women Ksh17.5 million compensation for the traumatic experience they underwent during the 1992 protests at Uhuru Park.
According to the court, the women were treated brutally while protesting and agitating the release of political prisoners during the regime of former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Adittionally, the court overruled a decision made by the court of appeal in 2009 that upheld a High Court ruling, that the women excessively delayed in filing the suit.
“The Government of Kenya shall pay damages assessed at Ksh17.5 million to the appellants,” the Supreme Court judgment read in part.
Despite the delayed filing of the case, the Supreme Court determined that the women had a valid claim based on the historical context in which their rights were violated.
The court stated that it was reasonable that the appellants delayed because they did not have faith in the then judicial system.
"There is no time limit in matters relating to constitutional rights violations that are evaluated and decided on a case-by-case basis.
"The Court is plausible in the sense that it was attributed to a lack of faith in the pre-2010 judiciary," the Supreme Court explained.
Moreover, the court held that the police brutality during the protests were traumatic despite lacking medical reports to prove the physical injuries that the women suffered.
“Although the appellants did not show any physical injuries or medical reports, the Court is persuaded that the whole incident had a traumatic effect on them.
"This is because the respondent did not provide any justifiable reasons whatsoever why it was necessary to violently disrupt and disband the harmless protests of the appellants," the court explained.
The women, led by Monica Wamwere, mother to activist Koigi Wamwere, staged a hunger strike during a protest in Uhuru Park in February 1992 demanding the release of political prisoners detained by former President Daniel Arap Moi's government.
