In January, the State initiated payment of Sh888 million to victims and survivors of torture and other forms of inhumane treatment and government overreach. At the time, several cases, especially against the Kanu administration, were pending in court.
One of them involved the late Charles Rubia, who had sued for illegal detention where the Second Liberation hero was demanding Sh40 billion for his loss on detention without trial.
The Rubia estate has now secured a judgment for Sh22 million while that of late Nandi legislator Jean Mariey Seroney will get Sh17 million. Another case was by politician Kenneth Matiba whose family was to be paid about Sh1 billion.
In January, the State initiated payment of Sh888 million to victims and survivors of torture and other forms of inhumane treatment and government overreach. At the time, several cases, especially against the Kanu administration, were pending in court.
One of them involved the late Charles Rubia, who had sued for illegal detention where the Second Liberation hero was demanding Sh40 billion for his loss on detention without trial.
The Rubia estate has now secured a judgment for Sh22 million while that of late Nandi legislator Jean Mariey Seroney will get Sh17 million. Another case was by politician Kenneth Matiba whose family was to be paid about Sh1 billion.
Elsewhere, courts have made judgements rising into hundreds of millions of shillings, including Sh500 million for Airforce soldiers who were sacked in connection with the failed 1982 coup.
These are by no means the only legal actions against official impunity.
The point here is that the officialdom has long been used to acting illegally, including abusing the rights of its citizens and leaders with dissenting opinions.
Unfortunately, taxpayers are often asked to pay for the impunity of the officials who committed crimes of ommission and commission. Invariably, such judgements come long after those responsible have left office, yet when these crimes were being committed, they were not in public interest.
More often than not, those responsible get away with their crimes at public expense.
That said, it is time Kenya put in place mechanisms for officials to face the consequences of their actions, and oversight should be strengthened so that they can be brought to account while they are still in office. Starting with senior officials who thrive in untamed abuse of power, they must be made to understand why Kenyans suffered so much to entrench the rule of law.
The Judiciary must be in the forefront of enforcing this by dispensing justice without either fear or favour but also by speeding up the hearing and conclusion of such cases.
If government agencies fail to act today, the citizenry will end up paying billions of shillings in reparations for crimes that could have either been avoided or checked.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
