Four elderly Kenyans yesterday launched a human rights claim that could cost the UK taxpayer millions.Almost half a century after their country gained independence from Britain, the group – all in their seventies and eighties – have claimed they were tortured and sexually assaulted in British-run detention camps during the 1950s Mau Mau uprising.
They were flown to Britain by a Kenyan campaign group and are being represented by no-win, no-fee London lawyers.
Their shocking claims – which include being castrated with pliers – are backed by the Kenyan Government and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
The KHRC has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed or tortured during the uprising, with 160,000 detained.
If the four are successful, and they are understood to believe previously secret Government documents support their allegations, thousands more could demand compensation, causi
The Foreign Office denies all liability, saying the group has left it too late to claim. It also says the Kenyan government is legally responsible for any abuses as all liabilities were transferred to the Kenyan Republic when it formed in 1963 as Britain pulled out of Africa.
The four Kenyans at the centre of the case are Ndiku Mutua, 78, who was arrested in 1957 after being accused of supplying food to the Mau Mau. He alleges he was beaten, stripped, handcuffed and castrated.
Paulo Nzili, 83, also says he was castrated with pliers and suffered daily beatings with sticks after being detained in a camp in 1957.
Wambugu Wa Nyingi, 82, alleges he was beaten unconscious and once witnessed 16 other detainees clubbed to death during his nine-year detention for being a supporter of a pro-independence political party.
Female claimant Jane Muthoni Mara, 71, says she was tortured, whipped and suffered sexual abuse during three years’ imprisonment for apparently giving food to the rebels.
A fifth test case concerns the late Susan Ngondi, who alleged she was forced into hard labour and raped. Read More
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