Kenyans to sue UK over ‘abuse’ in 1950s uprising

Thousands of elderly Kenyans are preparing to sue the British government over abuses – including torture, illegal detention and rape – its forces allegedly committed during its suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion, a lawyer representing the group said yesterday.

The Kenyans are motivated by the progress of a case by four other Kenyans, who were given the go-ahead by a British court last year to sue the UK government for alleged abuses during its colonial occupation of Kenya, said lawyer Donald Rabala.

Mr Rabala yesterday said his firm had taken statements from more than 6,000 people who claimed to have been tortured, detained illegally, raped or forcefully displaced from their land, among other abuses. He said his firm was collecting more statements from Kenyans allegedly held by the British in detention camps after the 1952 uprising, led by the militia group the Mau Mau. Britain imposed a state of emergency that lasted until 1959.

“The victims know some of the names of those who tortured them,” Mr Rabala said.

During the uprising in 1952, prime minister Winston Churchill sent troops to help administrators capture and detain Mau Mau fighters.