02/10/2025
Wajir West MP Condemns Discriminatory Compensation Plan, Demands Justice for Wagalla Victims
By Ahmed Salat Ali AARAN TV KE News Desk
Wajir West Member of Parliament Hon. Yussuf Mohamed Farah has strongly protested what he describes as a discriminatory government plan to compensate victims of police brutality only up to 2017, saying the framework deliberately sidelines survivors of historical atrocities such as the 1984 Wagalla massacre.
In a letter dated September 29, 2025, addressed to President William Ruto and copied to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the legislator accused the government of perpetuating selective justice against some of Kenya’s gravest human rights victims.
“The selective approach to justice offends the principles of equality, fairness, non-discrimination and inclusivity as enshrined in the Constitution,” his letter read.
“By limiting compensation to only those affected up to 2017, the government is deliberately excluding victims of earlier and more egregious violations, most notably the Wagalla massacre.”
The Dark Chapter of Wagalla
The Wagalla massacre remains one of the darkest chapters in Kenya’s post-independence history. On February 10, 1984, the Kenya Army rounded up thousands of Somali Degodia men at Wagalla Airstrip in Wajir under the pretext of quelling clan unrest. Survivors recount days of brutal detention without food or water, exposure to scorching heat, torture, and mass executions.
Although eyewitnesses estimate that over 5,000 men were killed, hundreds of women r***d, homes burned, and properties destroyed, the official death toll has never been established. Thousands were left traumatised, many carrying scars to this day, while countless survivors died without ever receiving justice or compensation.
This year, February marked the 40th anniversary of the massacre. To honour the victims, Wagalla Memorial School was established, and the late Minister Ahmed Khalif—who dedicated his life to championing compensation—remains a symbol of that struggle.
Empty Promises and Unfulfilled Pledges
Successive governments have acknowledged the atrocity but failed to provide redress. In 1992, then-President Daniel arap Moi promised reparations. In 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a public apology. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) later confirmed the abuses and recommended reparations, yet not a single victim has been compensated to date.
MP Farah warned that continuing to ignore historical injustices risks deepening inequality and eroding trust in government institutions. He cautioned that victims may be forced to pursue legal redress if the state proceeds with a discriminatory framework.
“If the government proceeds with a plan that excludes Wagalla victims, we shall have no recourse but to move to court to challenge it on grounds of discrimination, inequality, and violation of constitutional rights,” he declared.
Call for Inclusive Reparations
The legislator urged the Office of the President to broaden the proposed reparations framework to cover all victims of state brutality, regardless of when the violations occurred, and to expressly include Wagalla survivors. He emphasised that his protest was not against compensation for recent victims but in pursuit of equal justice for all.
“This protest is not in opposition to justice for any victim. It is in pursuit of equal justice for all,” he stated.
Farah anchored his demands on the Constitution, citing Article 10 on inclusivity and protection of the marginalised, Article 27 on equality and freedom from discrimination, and Article 28 on respect for human dignity.
Rekindling a National Debate
The protest is expected to reignite debate over Kenya’s troubled record of state violence in Northern Kenya. For many survivors and families of Wagalla victims, four decades of silence and broken promises have compounded the pain of loss.
“The cries of Wagalla victims have had little to no impact on successive governments. This latest exclusion continues that cycle of silence and injustice,” Farah lamented.
As the nation reflects on its past, calls for justice grow louder. For the dwindling number of survivors—many of them elderly, sick, and bedridden—the demand is simple: recognition, reparations, and dignity before it is too late.
