NAIROBI Kenya Oct 30-Kenya Human Rights Commission(KHRC) has demanded reparations and public apology from King Charles iii on behalf of the British Government for colonial injustices and the inhuman acts that they inflicted to Kenyans citizens from the entire colonial period(1895-1963) to date and fully compensate the victims.
“We further demand effective reparations for all the atrocities committed to the different groups in the country.This should be in line with the aforementioned UN principles and guidelines which will provide support among others; adequate compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantee of non repetition,” stated Davis Malobe,executive director,KHCR.
The commision says that British occupation in the country saw the use of excessive brutal force that led to the crackdown of all the individuals, communities and associations that tried to resist its political ventures in different parts of the country.
The Kenyan political breakdown by the British were so horrific that the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation commission(TJRC) addressed it while exercising its special mandate on the colonial antecedents.
“The commission finds that between 1895 and 1963, the British colonial administration in Kenya was responsible for unspeakable and horrific gross violations of human rights. In order to establish its authority in Kenya, the colonial government employed violence on the local population on an unprecedented scale. Such violence included massacres, torture and ill- treatment and various forms of sexual violence” TJRC stated.
KHCR also acknowledged the British forceful eviction of Kenyan communities from their ancestral land and signing “agreements” with illiterate community leaders leading to dispossession of their land and unfortunately some of the lands are till today still owned by British investors such as Lord Delamare ,David craig and corporations such as Kakuzi, unilever tea Kenya, James Finlay Kenya, George williamstone.
The human rights commission states that,land alienation and political repression made way for the British corporates, to advance the land based agricultural economy with cheap labor and minimal resistance which to date greatly aided to the violation of human rights by the British Citizens to the people working at the farm.This has left some victims being infected with HIV, leading to marriages being shuttered ,injuries and deaths to the men and women working there and none of the victims was compensated.
“In February this year, the British Broadcasting Corporation released an expose revealing that more than 70 women were sexually abused by their farm managers in tea plantations operated by two British companies, univeiler and James Finlay. These women told the BBC they had been sexually abused by their supervisors. Secret filming showed local bosses, on plantations owned by Unilever and James Finlay and co, pressuring an undercover reporter for sex,” Malobe said.
KHRC has further expressed its disappointment toward the British Army Training Unit(BATUK) who have been accommodated in Kenya to conduct their training. These BATUK troops have been unleashing terror towards Kenyans and remain unpunished to date and KHRC term it as unacceptable.
“The visiting will give a past understanding of their situations and their issues and because he wants to issue a statement of regret you’ll get to understand exactly what communities went through, and what we are advocating is comprehensive engagement with all the impacted groups and provision of remedies which comes with apologies at the beginning point,” said Davis Malobe.
They have further demanded the British to release all the classified information they possess regarding their rule in Kenya , bring back the skull of Kitalel Arap Samoei, assist in the tracing of Dedan Kimathi’s burial site for a decent send off and also technically support the construction and maintenance of the requisite memorials.
