Why 32 Kenyan families will get Sh353 million each from Boeing

Each of the 32 Kenyan families whose loved ones died in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash is set to receive $2.73 million (Sh353.3 million), bringing a seven-year legal battle closer to an end.

The fresh compensation comes from a $444.5 million (Sh57.5 billion) victim compensation fund established by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) following agreements reached with Boeing over the two fatal 737 MAX crashes.

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The latest payment will add significantly to the compensation already received by affected families. Each beneficiary had earlier received $1.45 million (Sh187.7 million) from a separate $500 million fund agreed in 2021.

“We handled a highly complex matter that required international coordination across more than 35 countries where the victims resided, as well as litigation in multiple jurisdictions,” explained Manuel von Ribbeck of Ribbeck Law Chartered.

The latest payments are linked to a Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA) reached between Boeing and the US Department of Justice in 2025, under which the plane manufacturer avoided criminal prosecution while accepting additional financial and compliance obligations.

How Kenyan Families’ Compensation Reached Sh540 Million

Ribbeck Law Chartered, which represents 93 families affected by the two Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes, announced on August 26 that Boeing would begin making the final compensation payments to its clients.

The law firm said the payments would conclude its legal work for the represented families in the United States, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

“We have now concluded the legal work on behalf of our clients in the United States, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Boeing will begin compensating our clients immediately pursuant to the non-prosecution agreement entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice.”

The March 10, 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash killed all 157 people aboard Flight ET302 shortly after the aircraft took off from Addis Ababa.

Kenya had the largest single national contingent among the passengers, with 36 Kenyans losing their lives. Of those, 32 travelled using Kenyan passports, while four were travelling under other or dual nationalities.

The tragedy occurred just five months after Lion Air Flight 610, another Boeing 737 MAX, crashed into the Java Sea in Indonesia. The two disasters claimed a combined 346 lives.

Investigations into both crashes identified the aircraft’s automated flight-control system as a significant factor in the accidents.

The two crashes resulted in the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet worldwide for about 20 months and contributed to more than $20 billion in costs for the manufacturer.

Kenyan families subsequently joined lawsuits filed in US federal courts as they pursued compensation over the deaths of their relatives.

The legal proceedings covered issues including liability, loss of income, financial support, companionship, suffering and other damages.

The compensation received by each family has varied depending on the legal route taken. The first Kenyan family represented by Ribbeck settled its case in December 2020 for $3 million, equivalent to about Sh388.2 million at current exchange rates.

That payment was separate from the US criminal-case victim compensation fund.

By June 2021, Kenyan families had also started receiving payments from the $500 million fund established under Boeing’s earlier agreement with the Justice Department.

Boeing’s Legal Battle and New Compensation Fund

Boeing entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the US Justice Department in January 2021 after being accused of conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration over technical information concerning the 737 MAX.

The agreement required Boeing to pay more than $2.5 billion, including a $243.6 million criminal penalty, $1.77 billion for its airline customers and $500 million for families and beneficiaries of the 346 victims.

The legal dispute resurfaced in May 2024 after the Justice Department determined that Boeing had breached the 2021 agreement.

US authorities accused the company of failing to design, implement and enforce an effective compliance and ethics programme capable of preventing and detecting violations of US fraud laws.

The finding came months after a January 2024 incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9, in which a door plug blew out shortly after take-off, prompting renewed scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing standards and safety oversight.

The Justice Department and Boeing subsequently negotiated another proposed agreement, but a Texas federal judge rejected the proposed guilty-plea arrangement in December 2024, saying it did not meet the required public-interest standard.

A new agreement was reached in May 2025.

Under the Non-Prosecution Agreement, Boeing committed another $444.5 million to a fund for beneficiaries of victims of the two MAX crashes. The additional amount brought the combined criminal-case victim compensation funds to $944.5 million.

The $444.5 million fund is to be divided equally among the 346 people killed in the two crashes, resulting in an average payment of approximately $2.73 million per victim.

Boeing also agreed to invest $455 million in compliance, safety and quality programmes and retain an independent compliance consultant.

Some families opposed the agreement, arguing that the Justice Department had failed to adequately protect their rights during negotiations.

A Texas federal court nevertheless approved the government’s request to dismiss the criminal charge in November 2025.

The families challenging the dismissal appealed the decision, taking the dispute to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and extending the legal battle into 2026.

On March 31, 2026, the appellate court rejected petitions challenging both the 2021 DPA and the 2025 NPA. The court later denied a rehearing petition in May, while the mandate was issued in June.

The latest payments therefore mark an important stage in the long-running compensation process for families affected by the crashes.

Civil litigation, however, has continued separately, with some families choosing to pursue their claims through trial instead of confidential settlements.

Several significant jury awards have emerged from those cases.

In May 2026, a Chicago federal jury awarded $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, who died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. The award included compensation for her pre-death suffering, loss of companionship and the family’s grief.

Another Chicago jury previously awarded more than $28 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a United Nations environmental consultant who also died aboard Flight 302.

In August 2026, an Irish family received a $29 million jury award over the death of Micheál Ryan, a World Food Programme engineer who was among those killed on the Ethiopian Airlines flight.

For the 32 Kenyan families receiving the latest Boeing compensation, the new $2.73 million payment represents approximately Sh353.3 million per victim.

Combined with the earlier $1.45 million payment from the 2021 victim fund, each family will have received about $4.18 million, equivalent to approximately Sh540 million at the stated conversion rates, before accounting for any separate civil settlements or awards.

The payments bring a major chapter in the legal aftermath of the Ethiopian Airlines disaster closer to its conclusion, seven years after the crash claimed 157 lives.