Reports
Discussion Papers
No.321 The Gap between Recognition and the ‘Compensation Business’: The Claim against Britain for Compensation by Kenya’s Former Mau Mau Fighters
by TSUDA Miwa
February 2012
ABSTRACT
During
the
first
Kibaki
administration
(2002-2007),
a
movement
by
the
former
Mau
Mau
fighters
demanded
recognition
for
the
role
that
they
had
played
in
the
achievement
of
independence.
They
began
to
demand,
also,
monetary
compensation
for
past
injustices.
Why
had
it
taken
over
40
years
(from
independence
in
1963)
for
the
former
Mau
Mau
fighters
to
initiate
this
movement?
What
can
be
observed
as
the
outcome
of
their
movement?
To
answer
these
questions,
three
different
historical
currents
need
to
be
taken
into
account.
These
were,
respectively,
changing
trends
in
the
government
of
Kenya,
progress
in
historical
research
into
the
actual
circumstances
of
colonial
control,
and
a
realization,
based
on
mounting
experience,
that
launching
a
legal
action
against
Britain
could
turn
out
to
be
a
lucrative
initiative.
This
paper
concludes
that,
regardless
of
the
actual
purpose
of
the
legal
case,
neither
of
their
objectives
was
certain
to
be
achieved.
Two
inescapable
realities
remain:
the
doubts
cast
on
the
reputation
of
the
government
by
its
decision
to
lift
the
Mau
Mau‟s
outlaw
status
–
a
decision
that
was
widely
seen
as
a
latter-day
example
of
the
„Kikuyu
favouritism‟
policy
followed
by
the
first
Kibaki
administration
–
and
the
popular
interpretation
of
the
involvement
of
Leigh
Day,
well
known
in
Kenya
ever
since
the
unexploded
bombs
case
for
its
success
in
obtaining
substantial
compensation
payments,
as
a
vehicle
for
squeezing
large
amounts
of
money
from
the
British
government
for
the
benefit
of
the
Kikuyu
people.
Keywords:
Kenya;
ethnicity;
Kibaki;
colonization;
Kikuyu;
compensation;
Mau
Mau
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.