The state is yet to respond to a compensation case filed by 7,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nyamira and Kisii counties.
When the matter came for mention before Lady justice Hedwig Imbosa Ong’udi, on Tuesday, October 12 she directed the state to put in their response by November 24, 2021, when the matter will be heard.
The IDPs were expecting the judgement because the matter had been handled in the absence of the state response by Judge Weldon Korir who is on transfer.
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Ong’udi has taken over from Korir and she now says that she wants to hear the victim's application before delivering judgement.
The matter has been pending in courts for over 13 years. The IDPs sued the state in 2017 over unpaid compensation.
The aggrieved IDPs led by Rev Nenwel Momanyi are crying for justice, claiming that Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and PS Karanja Kibicho have refused to compensate them.
Momanyi said in the court papers that he has been moving from one court to another to represent his people in vain.
They have also attempted to present their petition to the Senate and National Assembly in vain.
“Instead of us, it was non-IDPs who were compensated and we travel from Kisii to Nairobi to listen to the case every time it is being heard," Momanyi said.
“I believe that in the 13 years we have been in court, we are going to get justice," Momanyi said..
He pleaded with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to follow up on the matter.
They are seeking to have those who illegally received the money arrested and prosecuted. They said the money was paid to Boda Boda riders and other non-IDPs.
In June 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta released Ksh 358 million for the compensation of IDPs in Kisii county.
The President later handed over another Ksh 472 million to displaced people in Nyamira.
Uhuru said the beneficiaries were the last batch of people displaced by the violence. They are now confident that they will attain justice soon.
