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State asked to seek all-inclusive 'final settlement' with UK over Mau Mau case

A worker puts the final touches on a memorial in honour of victims of torture during the colonial era in Nairobi on September 7, 2015 ahead of an unveiling ceremony on September 12. AFP PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA

By  MAZERA NDURYA

What you need to know:

  • Senior Counsel Paul Muite has asked the State to take up the matter with the British government on a government-to-government basis.
  • He said direct involvement of the government would help victims and families of other freedom fighters who did not benefit from the initial payout.
  • He said that while it widely appreciated that the Kikuyu, Meru and Embu communities dominated the Mau Mau war, the ranks included people from practically all the communities in Kenya who also need to be recognised in the final settlement.

A lawyer who represented Mau Mau war veterans in a case for compensation from the UK now wants the Kenyan government to take up the matter.

Senior Counsel Paul Muite has asked the State to take up the matter with the British government on a government-to-government basis.

He said direct involvement of the government would help victims and families of other freedom fighters who did not benefit from the initial payout.

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Speaking two days after the unveiling of the Mau Mau Memorial Park at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Mr Muite said justice in London was limited to those who were able to produce evidence of torture acceptable in law.

“These are the ones who each received compensation of Sh348,000, leaving out those who were killed, detained in the forest and the many women who risked their lives supplying food to the freedom fighters.

“If a satisfactory closure to the Mau Mau issue is to be achieved, an all-inclusive settlement is necessary.

“This can only be achieved through a government-to-government approach and not through courts,” said Mr Muite.

Mr Muite had in 2013 sent a letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, through the Attorney-General Githu Muigai and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking the government to take up the matter.

FINAL SETTLEMENT

He said that while it is widely appreciated that the Kikuyu, Meru and Embu communities dominated the Mau Mau war, the ranks included people from practically all the communities in Kenya who also need to be recognised in the final settlement.

In the letter to Prof Muigai, Mr Muite said his client, the Mau Mau Veterans Association, did not want the matter to be limited to the association and the British government, but a matter between the two countries.

“My client, therefore, requests the Kenyan government to make an appropriate response to the British government that the matter be settled out of court.

“That while the apology and payment of compensation to the 5,228 living torture victims goes a long way towards resolution of the Mau Mau issue, more needs to be done to bring closure satisfactorily to all.”

Nearly 500 elderly men and women last Saturday thronged the Freedom Corner at Uhuru Park in Nairobi to witness the unveiling of a Mau Mau memorial.

The monument is made of a marble and bronze structure in the middle.

It has granite stone plaques at the entrance with a brief history of the Mau Mau movement and the State of Emergency. The message is also in braille.

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