Nairobi, June 25 — As Kenya approaches the anniversary of the June 2024 protests, families of the victims are speaking out about their search for justice, expressing disappointment and frustration with the government’s response. The protests, which turned violent, resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of Kenyan youths, leaving their families to pick up the pieces and seek accountability. The family of Rex Masai, the first casualty of the June 2024 protests, has accused the government of being insensitive to their plight.
Rex’s mother, Giliam Munyao, expressed her disappointment in an interview, stating that the government has dragged its feet in compensating the victims and failed to establish a structured mechanism for negotiating with the affected families. According to Munyao, the government’s approach has been contemptuous of human life, with the recent announcement of compensation being a case in point.
It’s a painful loss for Munyao, who lost her firstborn son, a young man with a job opportunity in the United Kingdom. The government’s offer of compensation has been met with skepticism by Munyao, who terms it a “big joke” and a casual appropriation of human worth. She questions the value of the compensation, stating that no amount can be worth human life.
A significant amount of money has been announced as compensation for deaths, but Munyao is not satisfied, viewing it as a mere consolation token rather than genuine compensation. She wonders what she can invest in to enable her to bring up Rex’s two siblings, given that her life was shattered by his death.
The government’s approach, according to Munyao, is akin to telling the families to take the money and shut up, rather than engaging with them in a meaningful and structured manner. The record shows that Rex Masai was shot in the thigh on Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District and died from excessive bleeding. This incident marked the beginning of a series of violent confrontations between protesters and the police, resulting in a significant number of casualties.
As the country commemorates the anniversary of these events, the families of the victims are still seeking justice and accountability from the government. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the government will respond to the concerns of the affected families. The families are likely to continue pushing for a more structured and meaningful engagement with the government, rather than just accepting compensation.
With the anniversary of the protests approaching, the spotlight will be on the government to see how it will address the concerns of the families and provide a sense of closure and justice for the victims. The coming days will be crucial in determining the trajectory of this situation, as the government faces increasing pressure to respond to the concerns of the families.
According to the statement, officials confirmed that the government is committed to providing support to the affected families, but the details of this support remain unclear. As the situation develops, it will be important to watch how the government engages with the families and whether it will be able to provide the justice and accountability they are seeking.
