Documents that had remained hidden until now reveal the systematic use of torture and brutality by the British administration against Mau Mau rebels in Kenya between 1952 and 1960. Those papers, which document the efforts of the colonial power to suppress the insurrection, were taken at the time of Kenya and remained hidden in secret archives of the Government for half a century, reports The Times today.
The UK authorities have been forced to make them public, after four elderly Kenyans said they had been tortured during the rebellion against the British. The plaintiffs claim to have suffered "unspeakable acts of brutality, including castration" and the case reached the High Court in London, which has called for this Thursday the first hearing.
The 300 boxes of documents now discovered were taken from Kenya in 1963 and secretly brought to this country only days before the declaration of independence by the African country. British officials at the time they got rid of all evidence that might cause problems for the government of His Majesty.
It was thought that the incriminating material could be lost or been destroyed, but after a High Court judge ordered the Government to present relevant evidence, the "Foreign Office" found in its files 1,500 documents relating to the case. The vast majority of these documents are related to the Mau Mau and include the arrest and punishment of persons suspected of belonging to the rebel movement.
Historians believe it may have saved similar documents related to other territories that were part of the empire as Cyprus, Nigeria, Malaysia, Rhodesia and Palestine. "These documents were hidden to protect the guilty. And not just in Kenya. Who knows what other skeletons are stored in the basement of the 'Foreign Office'?.
It's time the truth be known," said David Anderson , professor of African history at the University of Oxford, quoted by The Times. The four complainants Kenyans demand that the British Government a statement of regret for what happened and the creation of a charitable fund for victims.
They still live at least another 1,400 former Mau Mau detainees, and if others follow suit individuals colonized countries, the British Government could be exposed to claims in the millions. Some of those involved in these crimes are now living in Britain, so it could be even processed.
The four plaintiffs in that country, which arrived Monday in the UK, claiming "damages" for injuries sustained in the "repeated physical assaults they suffered by employees and agents of the British colonial administration in Kenya while they were detainees. " His lawyers argue, according to The Times, the documents show that these attacks recurred were part of "a system of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment by police and other members of the security services with full knowledge of the colonial administration." The Kenyan revolt was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the colonial period and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
In 1952, the Kenyan authorities declared a state of emergency. It is believed that 79,000 Kenyans were arrested, one in four adult males of the Kikuyu tribe. Official figures speak of 12,000 dead among Kenyans, but historians believe that the death toll could reach 25,000 compared to only 32 European farmers.
Among those arrested was then the paternal grandfather of U.S. President Barack Obama, Hussein Onyango Obama, who joined the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British officer. Obama was arrested and imprisoned for two years in a high security prison where, according to his family, was tortured in an attempt to extract information on the insurgency. 
The UK authorities have been forced to make them public, after four elderly Kenyans said they had been tortured during the rebellion against the British. The plaintiffs claim to have suffered "unspeakable acts of brutality, including castration" and the case reached the High Court in London, which has called for this Thursday the first hearing.
The 300 boxes of documents now discovered were taken from Kenya in 1963 and secretly brought to this country only days before the declaration of independence by the African country. British officials at the time they got rid of all evidence that might cause problems for the government of His Majesty.
It was thought that the incriminating material could be lost or been destroyed, but after a High Court judge ordered the Government to present relevant evidence, the "Foreign Office" found in its files 1,500 documents relating to the case. The vast majority of these documents are related to the Mau Mau and include the arrest and punishment of persons suspected of belonging to the rebel movement.
Historians believe it may have saved similar documents related to other territories that were part of the empire as Cyprus, Nigeria, Malaysia, Rhodesia and Palestine. "These documents were hidden to protect the guilty. And not just in Kenya. Who knows what other skeletons are stored in the basement of the 'Foreign Office'?.
It's time the truth be known," said David Anderson , professor of African history at the University of Oxford, quoted by The Times. The four complainants Kenyans demand that the British Government a statement of regret for what happened and the creation of a charitable fund for victims.
They still live at least another 1,400 former Mau Mau detainees, and if others follow suit individuals colonized countries, the British Government could be exposed to claims in the millions. Some of those involved in these crimes are now living in Britain, so it could be even processed.
The four plaintiffs in that country, which arrived Monday in the UK, claiming "damages" for injuries sustained in the "repeated physical assaults they suffered by employees and agents of the British colonial administration in Kenya while they were detainees. " His lawyers argue, according to The Times, the documents show that these attacks recurred were part of "a system of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment by police and other members of the security services with full knowledge of the colonial administration." The Kenyan revolt was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the colonial period and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
In 1952, the Kenyan authorities declared a state of emergency. It is believed that 79,000 Kenyans were arrested, one in four adult males of the Kikuyu tribe. Official figures speak of 12,000 dead among Kenyans, but historians believe that the death toll could reach 25,000 compared to only 32 European farmers.
Among those arrested was then the paternal grandfather of U.S. President Barack Obama, Hussein Onyango Obama, who joined the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British officer. Obama was arrested and imprisoned for two years in a high security prison where, according to his family, was tortured in an attempt to extract information on the insurgency.
- Mau Mau rebellion: Torture of rebels including Obama's grandfather (05/04/2011)
- Britain's 'Mau Mau rebellion involvement' uncovered ahead of High Court case (04/04/2011)
- Let Britain Own Up and Apologize to Kenya and Kenyan Freedom Fighters for Their Atrocities in Colonial Kenya (03/04/2011)
- Courting birther nuts, Huckabee plays the Kenyan Mau Mau card against Obama (02/03/2011)
- What other secrets does the Foreign Office hold? (05/04/2011)
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