LSK President Faith Odhiambo has resigned from her position as the Vice Chairperson of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests.

Odhiambo confirmed her resignation in a statement posted on her social media platforms on October 6, 2025.

Here is her full statement.

When the Head of Public Service published a Notice on August 25, 2025 in the Kenya Gazette confirming the establishment of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests, I was appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Panel.

The Panel was constituted of distinguished Kenyans who have made tremendous contributions in championing for the Rule of Law and Human Rights in Kenya.

The proposed mandate of the Panel presented an opportunity to overhaul the existing legal and institutional framework on victim reparations, which as it stands has proven inadequate in addressing public concerns over the historic crisis of police overreach and protestor victimization during demonstrations.

As resilient as the resolve of the Law Society of Kenya has been in upholding the rule of law throughout Kenya’s history, especially in the last two years, my oath of office demands that I do all it takes to preserve such resilience from any and all adversaries and detractors.

Accordingly, I have today handed in my formal and immediate resignation from the position of Vice Chairperson of the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests to the Head of Public Service.

My resignation from the Panel takes cognizance of the crucial point at which Kenya finds itself in the quest for full constitutional implementation and lasting reform to our democratic context.

This consequential moment for our country calls for all our rule of law institutions, especially the Law Society of Kenya, to remain unified and resolute in discharging the mandate bestowed upon us by law.

As things stand, the time-bound mandate of the Panel has been stopped by our Courts, and the proposed 120-day tenure of the Panel is likely to lapse before the matter is resolved and settled. While the clock runs down on the Panel’s lifetime, victims continue to reach out to me in total frustration over when their requests for audience with the Panel will be honored.

Unfortunately, it is not feasible to achieve the time-sensitive milestones I undertook to achieve, and I must therefore prioritize other avenues of responding to the plight of victims through the other positions I hold, especially the leadership of the Law Society of Kenya.

My commitment to agitate for the rights of victims remains impregnable; I will continue to take up and prosecute matters on behalf of victims of police excesses during demonstrations, and work towards safeguarding holistic justice for victims.

Today, a team of LSK advocates in Kisumu is in Court for the hearing of one of the matters on behalf of victims of police excesses during the 2023 demonstrations against the cost of living.

In this and other ongoing matters, we will be moving the courts and seeking the intervention of the leadership of the Judiciary to expedite proceedings with a view of concluding them as soon as practicable.

Further, it is not lost on me that there remains a significant gap in our victim reparations framework which must be addressed urgently.

LSK will forthwith engage all justice stakeholders and Human Rights institutions, to formulate legislative proposals to reconcile the infirmities in our laws and institutions that have left victims prejudiced and short-handed in their quest for justice.

Our proposals will be focused on ensuring that we transform Kenya’s approach in dealing with victims of police excesses and state overreach, from the current protracted process of apportioning criminal liability to an efficient and victim-centered approach of rehabilitating Victims and restoring them to a life of dignity and purpose.

We must treat reparations for victims with the same seriousness with which we treat repercussions for perpetrators.

Fundamentally, we will pursue each of the milestone deliverables that I pledged to deliver to all victims including the following:

1. Memorialization of victims and publication of their identities to honor their memories and entrench their sacrifice to the quest for justice in Kenya’s history;

2. Identification of unreported victims and tracking of all reported cases to ascertain that necessary interventions have been made, and where they have not, agitate for the same;

3. Make proposals to the Chief Justice to issue practice directions to all courts handling matters relating to victims of police excesses to fast-track the hearings and determination of the matters; and

4. Petition parliament to review legislation on demonstrations and enact provisions for protection of demonstrators and provide for reparations where police excesses arise.

I believe that should the same persuasion be shifted towards the success of this alternative approach, an equally positive outcome for victims remains attainable.

May Justice remain our Shield and Defender.

LSK President Faith Odhiambo speaking during a Closing of Files Ceremony on September 5, 2025. PHOTO/LSK.