Makueni Senator Urges Alternative Compensation for Gen-Z Protest Victims

Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo has urged the government to create alternative ways to compensate victims of the Gen-Z protests, saying families cannot wait for stalled legal processes to be resolved.

Addressing the Senate on 26 November 2025, Maanzo criticised the administration for failing to support families affected by the demonstrations after the courts halted the commission that had been tasked with handling the matter. He said the state’s key investment is its citizens, and that compensation becomes a duty when the government fails to protect them. 

According to the senator, the lack of action has left victims’ families coping with permanent loss and financial strain. He noted that the death of a young person can fundamentally alter a family’s future.

Maanzo referred to the July 2024 protests in Mombasa County, where security agencies were accused of using excessive force. He expressed particular concern over the killing of Rex Maasai, whose death became a defining moment for the Gen-Z movement. 

He argued that the Maasai’s case reflects the wider consequences of state violence, in which families are left with grief but no meaningful redress. Drawing on his time as a university student, Maanzo recalled that although student unrest sometimes led to temporary campus closures, deaths were avoided. 

He contrasted this with what he described as an unprecedented number of fatalities under the current administration. He remarked that if senators themselves were subjected to similar violence, the political leadership would be forced to confront the seriousness of the issue. 

“If all the 47 senators here were shot in a university demonstration, then the Senate today would be very different,” he said.

Maanzo also referenced the era of former President Daniel Arap Moi, noting that although protests were common, widespread killings were not permitted. Arrests occurred, he said, but loss of life was not tolerated. He argued that the current government has failed to prevent deaths during demonstrations, weakening public confidence in state institutions.