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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 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. | 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 in Nairobi said they were confident of success. | A spokesman for the veterans in Nairobi said 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. |
| 'Barbaric' | 'Barbaric' |
| 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. |
| Many women were raped, many women were inserted bottles of hot water into their private parts Gitu wa KahengeriMau Mau veteran | Many women were raped, many women were inserted bottles of hot water into their private parts Gitu wa KahengeriMau Mau veteran |
| 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." |
| Seventy-nine year old Gitu wa Kahengeri, a spokesman for the Mau Mau War Veterans' Association, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "The colonial government had treated the people of Kenya inhumanly. | Seventy-nine year old Gitu wa Kahengeri, a spokesman for the Mau Mau War Veterans' Association, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "The colonial government had treated the people of Kenya inhumanly. |
| "Many women were raped, many women were inserted bottles of hot water into their private parts." | "Many women were raped, many women were inserted bottles of hot water into their private parts." |
| The British foreign office said in a statement: "The Mau Mau issue remains a deeply divisive issue within Kenya which historians continue to debate. | |
| "The emergency period caused a great deal of pain for many on all sides, and marred progress towards independence. It is regrettable this was not achieved without violence." | |
| 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. |