Ignore calls to register with law firm for pay, war veterans urged

Ms Chesoni

A human rights watchdog has urged former Mau Mau fighters to ignore a law firm claiming to have the authority to register them for compensation from the British Government.

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) executive director Atsango Chesoni and board members Karuti Kanyinga and Davinder Lamba expressed concern over the move by Tandem Law.

“The court case in London which has been going on since 2009 and the settlement negotiations have nothing to do with Tandem Law, Graffin Legal or any other organisation apart from KHRC, the Mau Mau War Veterans Association and Leigh Day,” the rights group asserted.

“We note that the Mau Mau case has come this far as a result of the singular focus and commitment of the KHRC, the war veterans and Leigh Day. It is therefore unacceptable for people who have not given any iota of support or contributed financially or in any other way to the case to attempt to apportion themselves any credit for the same.”

On Thursday, Tandem Law claimed the former Mau Mau fighters should register only with them and Kenyan management company Graffin Legal to receive payment.

However, KHRC rejected the move and said the war veterans have no involvement with Tandem Law.

The rights group said since the Mau Mau suit was instituted at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on June 23 2009, the war veterans, KHRC and Leigh Day had pursued a two-pronged strategy.

The first strategy involved seeking justice for the Kenya victims of colonial era torture through the court process where they have scored two major victories on liability of the British state for colonial torture and limitation.

Out-of-court deal

The second strategy, pursued since February 2010, has been on engaging with the British Government with a view to reaching an out-of-court settlement on the case.

“We are in talks with the UK Government on a possible settlement and given the confidential nature of those negotiations we cannot comment further at this stage,” read part of the KHRC statement.

The statement also contradicts media reports by stating that no payments at all have been made to any Kenyan victims of colonial era torture as yet adding that the court case in London and the settlement negotiations have nothing to do with Tandem Law, Graffin Legal or any other law firm apart from the KHRC, the MMWVA and Leigh Day.