AG Dorcas Oduor To Represent 5 Govt Officials Sued At East African Court Over State Violations

• Newly appointed Attorney General Dorcas Oduor said she was ready to defend top government officials sued for human rights violations
• Bunge La Mwananchi filed a case against President William Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and other government officials
• The case related to alleged violations committed by the state during anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests

Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has said that her office is ready to represent senior government officials sued by a lobby group at the East African Court of Justice.

On Saturday, August 31, Oduor said her office would do what was constitutionally required once she went through the filed case that was served to her office.

Who has been sued at the East African Court of Justice?

The case filed by human rights advocacy group Bunge La Mwananchi wants several officials charged for state violence, forceful evictions, abductions and illegal arrests during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.

President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, are among those sued, along with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and immediate former Inspector General of National Police Japheth Koome.

The court gave the officials 45 days to respond to the accusations levelled against them.

According to AG Oduor, she has yet to go through the file, but once she does, her office will respond effectively.

“The office of the Attorney General will do what it is supposed to do, and the Attorney General will do what is constitutionally required of her office," she said.

She spoke during a public civic education forum where she said the office will foster respect for the rule of law and ensure public officers respect court decisions.

Bunge La Mwananchi, through its president Francis Awino, has maintained that the decision to sue state officers and other officials is aimed at serving justice to those who were affected by the protests.

“We will not relent until justice is served because lives were lost, youths were tortured and we can't just let it go," Awino said.

The five officials, including the president and his deputy, are expected to respond to alleged violations or orders they issued for the state security officers to commit the said crimes.

Awino explained that a lack of trust in the local criminal justice system informed the decision to move to Arusha.

“We felt that we won’t find justice in our country on the basis that the people who were directly involved will jeopardize the justice system,” he noted.

How many were killed during anti-government protests?

Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported that the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) released a statement on Monday, July 1, outlining human rights issues observed during protests against the contentious Finance Bill over the past two weeks.

KNCHR has documented a list of human rights concerns during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke