London High Court to hear Mau Mau case

Compensation claims for torture, rape, wrongful detention and forced labour brought by 40 000 Kenyans who allege they were mistreated by British officials during the Mau Mau insurgency are due to be heard in the High Court in London this week, says a report in The Guardian. The lawsuit against the Foreign Office is far larger than a previous class action brought by survivors of the 1950s colonial-era independence campaign. The oldest claimant is aged 91. Lawyers for the government are expected to make a last-minute application to delay the long-running case in a dispute over translation of witness statements. Approximately 1 500 claimants have died since the case was launched. Three years ago the then-Foreign Secretary, William Hague, announced the UK was paying out £19.9m in costs and compensation to more than 5 228 elderly Kenyans who suffered torture and abuse during the Mau Mau uprising. The admission came at the end of a test case brought by the law firm Leigh Day which established that UK courts did have jurisdiction to hear historical claims brought by those detained in military camps. While regretting the ‘abhorrent violations of human dignity’ that took place in Kenya, Hague did not admit government liability and indicated it would defend future claims for compensation. The report notes that in the latest class action the judge will initially consider 27 test claims – including those of two people who have died – to assess the range of allegations made by the entire group. The allegations relate chiefly to injuries sustained by claimants between 1952 and 1961 during the state of emergency declared by the colonial administration in the face of African resistance to British rule.