UK Acknowledges Crimes During Repression Of Mau Mau Revolt
By MISNA
For the first time the British government has acknowledged crimes committed during the repression of the anti-colonial Mau Mau revolt, as highlighted today by Kenya Broadcasting Corporation TV channel, in a feature on an ongoing trial before London High Court.
Acknowledging the crimes was a task given to Guy Mansfield, “Queen’s Counsel”, the lawyer who defends the Crown. Addressing the three former fighters who are the claimants in the trial, Mansfield said he “did not want to dispute that terrible things happened to you”, making then reference to “torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration”.
On Monday, Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambuga Wa Nyingi e Jane Muthoni Mara former rebels now in their 80s asking an apology for the sexual abuses, the beatings and other violences they faced in the prison camps run by British soldiers, appeared for the first time before London High Court.
So far, the British government stated it can not be held accountable for any crimes that might have been committed, because at the time an autonomous administration was already in place in Kenya. So any legal responsibility – London officials say – should be put on the independent State born in 1963. According to the Daily Nation, the repression by colonial rulers caused around 10,000 victims.
