Mau Mau veterans to sue Britain for torture

Original source:

Kenyan independence veterans have announced that they will file a lawsuit against the British government next week for the torture that they claim they suffered at the hands of their former British colonial rulers.

Mau Mau War Veterans Association spokesman Gitu wa Kahengeri said on Thursday that the suit, which will be filed at the High Court in London on Tuesday, follows the British government’s rejection of a 2006 demand for compensation and a formal apology.

Mr wa Kahengeri said: ‘What we are doing is for all the freedom fighters in Kenya.

‘We are demanding compensation because we were in concentration camps for 10 years. Our children did not go to school.’

Six members of the association will be seeking general compensation of £50,000 each.

The veterans participated in the Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s, which aimed to shake off colonial rule.

The colonial regime launched a brutal counterinsurgency effort in a bid to stamp out the armed nationalist campaign.

According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown.