Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has resigned from President William Ruto’s Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests, where she served as Vice Chairperson.
The panel was formed to review Kenya’s framework for compensating victims of police brutality during protests, but Odhiambo said she could no longer continue serving due to what she termed as “conflicts with her oath of office.”
“My oath of office demands that I do all it takes to preserve the resilience of the Law Society of Kenya from any and all adversaries and detractors,” she stated in her resignation letter.
Odhiambo added that her decision was guided by Kenya’s ongoing journey toward full constitutional implementation and long-term democratic reform.
She further revealed that, despite quitting the panel, she remains fully committed to fighting for justice for victims of police excesses through the Law Society of Kenya and the courts.
“It is not feasible to achieve the time-sensitive milestones I undertook to achieve. I must therefore prioritise other avenues of responding to the plight of victims through my leadership at LSK,” she said.
Odhiambo disclosed that many victims had reached out to her in frustration as the panel’s work stalled due to court orders halting its operations, adding that the 120-day mandate was likely to lapse before any progress could be made.
She vowed to continue advocating for the rights of victims, saying LSK will move to court and engage the Judiciary to fast-track cases related to police brutality.
“There remains a significant gap in our victim reparations framework which must be addressed urgently. LSK will engage all justice stakeholders and Human Rights institutions to craft legislative reforms that protect victims of state overreach,” she concluded.