The government has been ordered to pay Ksh 17 million to women tortured by the Mzee Moi regime.
On Friday, January 27, the Supreme Court ordered the government to compensate seven women for the horrible experience they endured during the 1992 Uhuru Park protests.
According to the court, the women were brutally handled while protesting and fighting for the release of political detainees during former President Daniel Arap Moi’s government.
Further, the court reversed a 2009 judgment by the Court of Appeal that maintained a High Court verdict that the ladies had filed the complaint too late.
“The Government of Kenya shall pay the appellants damages calculated at Ksh17.5 million,” the Supreme Court decision stated in part.
The court reasoned that the appellants’ delay was justified since they lacked trust in the legal system at the time.
“There is no time restriction in cases involving constitutional rights breaches that are assessed and determined on a case-by-case basis.
“The Court is credible in the sense that it was linked to a lack of trust in the court prior to 2010,” the Supreme Court said.
Moreover, despite the lack of medical records to establish the women’s physical injuries, the court determined that the police brutality during the protests was traumatizing.
“Although the appellants did not present any physical injuries or medical reports, the Court is satisfied that the whole experience had a devastating effect on them.
“This is because the respondent failed to establish any reasonable grounds why it was necessary to forcibly interrupt and disperse the appellants’ peaceful protests,” the court said.
The ladies, headed by Monica Wamwere, mother of activist Koigi Wamwere, went on hunger strike in February 1992 at a rally in Uhuru Park seeking the release of political prisoners jailed by former President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
