Will ex-Mau Mau live to see UK pay deal?

British High commissioner to Kenya Christian Turner (left) and Mau Mau War Veterans Association secretary general Gitu wa Kahengeri (centre) and Kibuuru Mburugu Marete (right) on June 6, 2013 at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi. The UK has offered Mau Mau war veterans a sum of Sh2.6 billion as compensation. JENNIFER MUIRURI

What you need to know:

  • General Kimbo is among the few Mau Mau war veterans left to witness the British government compensate victims for atrocities committed to them during the colonial era.
  • Ndung’u Wa Gicheru died on June 20 after a long illness.
  • Different groups have emerged claiming names of their members are missing from the list.

Mzee Njugi popularly known as General Kimbo has fond memories of General Gicheru.

Ndung’u Wa Gicheru died on June 20 after a long illness. (READ: Ex-Mau Mau fighter dies amidst pay row)

“We all belong to Ndun’gu wa Gicheru,” Mzee Njugi says looking at a picture of his comrade posing with first wife Esther Wanjiru whom he married in 1946.

General Kimbo, in a sombre mood, has come to condole with the family.

The grey-haired octogenarian seems to have accepted the finality of death with a steely resolve.

“We will all die. People have to die but the government should honour the Mau Mau fighters before they all die, " he says.

Veterans left

General Kimbo’s hands are not steady as he holds onto his walking stick.

He is among the few Mau Mau war veterans left to witness the British government compensate victims for atrocities committed to them during the colonial era.

When asked how old he is, the General simply removes his hat and says: “Here look at my hair and count the number of years,” as he bursts into laughter.

He remembers fighting alongside the late Gicheru in the Aberdare forest.

“Mzee Gicheru was first into the forest but we soon teamed up with him together with Kamera wa Gatu, Kimathi and Murugi.

“I know them all, we worked together. We are not imposters,” he says, noting the recent controversy surrounding the Mau Mau pay deal.

Missing from the list

Different groups have emerged claiming names of their members are missing from the list.

Some of the groups include Kahegeri, Mau Mau Harambee Jamuhuri ya Kenya Association and the Mau Mau War Veterans Association.

In a press statement in the Daily Nation on May 23, the Mau Mau Harambee Jamuhuri ya Kenya Association said they were not party to any alleged compensation claims by Leigh Day and the Kenya Human Rights.

The group said 3,427 of their members are represented in an ongoing case in UK filed by their lawyers Tandem Law.

The case lists the widow of Freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, Mrs Eloise Mukami Kimathi and James Karanja Nyoro among others as the plaintiffs.

On May 6 this year, the British Government said it had started negotiations to compensate the Mau Mau.

Earlier, Britain said the Kenyan government was the one legally responsible for mistreatment of the Mau Mau as all liabilities were transferred to the Kenyan Republic when it was formed in 1963.