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Foreign Secretary William Hague made the announcement in the House of Commons, London earlier today (06.06.2013) that the Government of the United Kingdom of Britain  will compensate 5,228 Kenyans with €23.5 million for the abuse they suffered during the Emergency Period and the Mau Mau insurgency from October 1952 to December 1963.

The €23.5 million Euros (£19.9 million British Pounds, 1.8 billion Kenyan Shillings or about $30 million US Dollars) compensation, if divided up equally, will amount to each person receiving approximately €4,460 million Euros (approximately 501,800 Kenyan Shillings) and represents about five times the annual salary of a low-level Kenyan civil servant.

The law firm, Leigh Day (senior partner Martyn Day speaking), who represented and solicited for the Kenyas stated that, “These crimes were committed by British colonial officials and have gone unrecognized and unpunished for decades. They included castration, rape and repeated violence of the worst kind. Although they occurred many years ago, the physical and mental scars remain. The elderly victims of torture now at last have the recognition and justice they have sought for many years. For them, the significance of this moment cannot be over emphasized.”

Leigh Day law firm and the Kenya Human Rights Commission wanted a larger financial compensation but settled out of Court for the amount cited above because the elderly (now in their 80s and 90s) Kenyan victims are aging, and some have even passed away since the lawsuit was filed a number of years ago (Nairobi 2003, London 2005), and wanted surviving victims too receive compensation before they die.

The subject of previously ‘confiscated land’ was also discussed and, although not part of the out of court settlement, has been considered and there is a possibility that rather than returning the specific and particular land that was taken from the Kenyan victims (and given to white Europeans persons) that other available land which is presently owned by the Kenyan Government could be given the Kenyan victims.

There is also talk of building a memorial wall (similar to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC) in Nairobi, Kenya in honor to victims of torture and abuse during the colonial era.  The British government supports the idea of constructing the memorial wall.

Foreign Secretary William Hague also asserted that, “We do not believe that this settlement establishes a precedent in relation to any other former British colonial administration.”   He also stressed that the British government will continue to deny liability for the actions of the colonial administration in colonial and protectorial Kenya and indicated that the British government would defend claims brought from other former British colonies. “We continue to deny liability on behalf of the government and British taxpayers today for the actions of the colonial administration. Indeed, the courts have made no findings of liability against the government in this case.”

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