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Kenyan Mau Mau veterans to sue UK | Kenyan Mau Mau veterans to sue UK |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Veterans of Kenya's independence struggle are launching a compensation claim against the UK for alleged atrocities by the British army. | Veterans of Kenya's independence struggle are launching a compensation claim against the UK for alleged atrocities by the British army. |
Lawyers for Mau Mau veterans said they had documented 40 cases of torture, including castration, sexual abuse and unlawful detention. | |
A spokesman for the veterans said in Nairobi they were confident of success. | A spokesman for the veterans said in Nairobi they were confident of success. |
The UK government has said the claim is invalid because of the time that had lapsed since the alleged abuses. | The UK government has said the claim is invalid because of the time that had lapsed since the alleged abuses. |
Five elderly Kenyans - three men and two women - detained during the 1950s insurgency are the lead claimants in the reparations case to be lodged at the High Court in London on 23 June. | Five elderly Kenyans - three men and two women - detained during the 1950s insurgency are the lead claimants in the reparations case to be lodged at the High Court in London on 23 June. |
The case is being brought by the Mau Mau War Veterans' Association and the Kenya Human Rights Commission through London law firm Leigh Day & Co. | The case is being brought by the Mau Mau War Veterans' Association and the Kenya Human Rights Commission through London law firm Leigh Day & Co. |
'Barbaric treatment' | 'Barbaric treatment' |
It is not the first compensation claim brought by Kenya's former independence fighters against the British government. | It is not the first compensation claim brought by Kenya's former independence fighters against the British government. |
Tom Kagwe, deputy executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, told Sunday's news conference in the Kenyan capital: "The actual number of Kenyans who suffered this barbaric treatment at the hands of British officers in fact runs into the thousands." | Tom Kagwe, deputy executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, told Sunday's news conference in the Kenyan capital: "The actual number of Kenyans who suffered this barbaric treatment at the hands of British officers in fact runs into the thousands." |
Historians say the Mau Mau movement helped Kenya achieve independence in 1963. | Historians say the Mau Mau movement helped Kenya achieve independence in 1963. |
It started in the European-owned farmlands in the Kenyan highlands in 1952. | It started in the European-owned farmlands in the Kenyan highlands in 1952. |
Mau Mau fighters launched attacks on white settlers, spreading terror through the white farming community. | Mau Mau fighters launched attacks on white settlers, spreading terror through the white farming community. |
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions. | The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions. |