Kenyans seek damages from British government over claims of torture during Mau Mau uprising

A man accused of leading the Mau Mau uprising was shot dead by British soldiers while working as a school watchman, the High Court in London has heard.

His son, James Mugo Kibande, 81, is seeking damages for alleged mistreatment during Kenya’s state of emergency in 1952, The Brief reports.

Mr Kibande is among a group originally comprising 40,000 people, who claim that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is liable.

The group is seeking compensation for assaults and injuries allegedly caused by the British colonial administration when it detained Kenyans in prisons, screening centres and detention camps under its programme of “villagisation”.

Under this scheme, they claim to have suffered torture, wrongful detention and forced labour at the hands of the British government.

The alleged perpetrators are all either untraceable or presumed dead and cannot therefore answer any of the allegations made against them. The politicians and civil servants in the Colonial Office and the colonial government are all dead and so too are the British Army generals involved.

In 2013, the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said the UK would pay £19.9 million in costs and compensation to more than 5,000 Kenyans who were tortured and abused during the Mau Mau uprising.

However, he said the UK government denied liability for what happened and would contest any claims that it was responsible.