Mau Mau veterans win right to sue British government
The government is bracing itself for thousands of legal claims from people who were imprisoned and allegedly mistreated during the final days of the British empire after the high court in London ruled that three elderly Kenyans detained and tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion have the right to sue for damages. The court on Friday rejected claims from the government's lawyers that too much time had elapsed since the seven-year insurgency in the 1950s, and it was no longer possible to hold a fair trial. Last year the same high court judge, Mr Justice McCombe, rejected the government's claim that the three claimants should be suing the Kenyan government as it had inherited Britain's legal responsibilities on independence in 1963.
Human rights activists in Kenya estimate more than 5,000 of the 70,000-plus people detained by the British colonial authorities are still alive. Many may bring claims against the British government. The ruling may also make it possible for victims of colonial atrocities in other parts of the world to sue. But many more men and women around the world who were imprisoned and allegedly mistreated during the conflicts that often accompanied the British retreat from empire may also be considering claims: cases that could bring to light evidence of brutal mistreatment of colonial subjects and result in a new and uncomfortable understanding of recent British history.
The Foreign Office acknowledged that the ruling had "potentially significant and far-reaching legal implications", and said it was planning to appeal. "The normal time limit for bringing a civil action is three to six years," a spokesman said. "In this case, that period has been extended to over 50 years despite the fact that the key decision makers are dead and unable to give their account of what happened."
Friday's historic victory for Paulo Muoka Nzili, 85, Wambugu Wa Nyingi, 84, and Jane Muthoni Mara, 73, was the result of a three-year battle through the courts. They had suffered what their lawyers describe as "unspeakable acts of brutality" including castration, beatings and severe sexual assaults. A fourth claimant dropped out while a fifth, Susan Ciong'ombe Ngondi, died two years ago, aged 71.
NB: 'In Nairobi, the news from London was relayed to two of the complainants, Nyingi and Mara, by mobile phone. They had been sitting silently with their supporters in the meagre shade of a sun-scorched garden and reacted with joy when the word came, hugging, dancing and eventually raising their hands to the sky to pray..'
The above description demonstrates the importance of simple acknowledgement of injustice to those who have suffered it. It has profound implications for all South Asians, for we inhabit an area where immense trauma has been inflicted on innocent people; and grave damage done to the very idea of law-governed society and a democratic civil sphere - Dilip
The above description demonstrates the importance of simple acknowledgement of injustice to those who have suffered it. It has profound implications for all South Asians, for we inhabit an area where immense trauma has been inflicted on innocent people; and grave damage done to the very idea of law-governed society and a democratic civil sphere - Dilip
