‘Human Life Is Not a Budget Item’: Orengo Slams Ruto’s Ksh2.5 Million Compensation Plan

Siaya governor James Orengo has criticized Ruto’s government on the Ksh 2 million compensation for protest victims.

In a statement released on June 16, 2026, Orengo said the compensation reduces the value of human life and dignity to a monetary figure.

“President Ruto’s administration has reduced the sanctity of human life and dignity to a predetermined monetary figure and normalising State violence rather than preventing it,” Read part of the statement.

Orengo says that this move is there to regulate public outrage amid the upcoming June 25, 2026, memorial protests for the victims who died.

Compensation Framework

According to Orengo, the proposed compensation framework fails to address the root causes of the violations and instead focuses on financial settlements rather than accountability and institutional reforms.

He argued that allowing deaths and injuries arising from demonstrations to be addressed through predetermined compensation could undermine efforts to prevent future violations.

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Orengo maintained that without investigations, arrests and prosecution of those responsible for unlawful conduct, compensation programmes risk legitimising the use of excessive force by attaching a financial value to human life.

“A constitutional democracy cannot operate on the basis that rights may be violated today and compensated tomorrow,” Orengo said, adding that constitutional rights are meant to be protected rather than priced.

Orengo On Human Rights

The governor also took issue with the proposal that families of individuals who lose their lives during demonstrations be compensated a minimum of Ksh 2.5 million.

He described the figure as an arbitrary valuation of human life and warned that it could set a dangerous precedent where violations of constitutional rights are treated as financial liabilities rather than serious constitutional failures requiring accountability.

Orengo further expressed concern that the framework could create the perception that unlawful killings can be followed by compensation payments without addressing responsibility for the violations.

Constitution

He insisted that compensation should only form one aspect of justice and must be accompanied by proper investigations, prosecution of offenders where criminal conduct is established and reforms aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.

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The governor concluded by stating that Kenyans are demanding the protection of their constitutional rights and freedoms, not compensation in place of those rights.

He said human life should not be treated as a budget item and constitutional freedoms should never be reduced to a compensation schedule.

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