The Ghosts of Empire: Mau Mau and Britain

Justice being done?

Why did the sun never set on the British Empire? Does God not trust the British in the dark? Whilst we might smile at either the pro Empire, or anti-Empire musings, one aspect of the Empire which is rarely explored has been the dark arts of colonialism under the British Government. The crimes committed during the colonial era in Kenya can only be described as ‘crimes against humanity’. Moreover, despite attempts to deny and suppress these crimes in Kenya, files recently released show the extent of official racism, torture and mistreatment during the Mau-Mau Uprising. The Foreign Office is currently in negotiations with the victims and their families to discuss payment and recompense for the torture.

The Mau-Mau uprising/armed insurrection (1952-1956) began as a struggle against the British colonial rule and European Settler colonialism. Kenya first came into the British ‘sphere of influence’ in 1895, when the British laid claim to the interior of East Africa as far as Lake Naivasha. They turned Kenya into a protectorate (The East Africa Protectorate), which meant Kenya was under British Military protections from African and European rivals. They then fully colonised Kenya in 1920 setting up a government and directly running the affairs of the country. The agricultural lands of Kenya were considered valuable and fertile and thus the British government decided to settle White European farmers to farm the land. They grew rich as ordinary Kenyans became poorer.

A group of Kenyan army officers began a revolt- which included organized insurgency against British rule. However, the British government reacted to this by launching Operation Anvil against all Kenyan nationalists-including many who were not involved in the insurgency. The Operation was launched in 1954 and in the first year up to 62,000 Kenyans was held in Prison Camps without charge. The British authorities used extreme torture and sexual abuse on the prisoners. Many even died during detention. One famous prisoner was Hussein Onyango Obama, grandfather of American President Barak Obama, who was suspected of being a nationalist was taken and tortured. The British even asked the Americans to spy on Barack Obama’s father when he first moved to the US.

The official papers which documented the scale of the torture and racism were deliberately hidden by the Foreign Office and their existence denied. They only came to light last year- after years of legal battles in the British High Courts, in-which many historians were called in as expert witnesses. The Kenyan families were trying to get permission to sue the British government from the High Court. The Foreign Office argued that it was not their responsibility-and that the families should seek compensation from the Kenyan government. The legal hearing forced the government to disclose a number of the files. In October 2012- the High Courts ruled that the British government could be sued by the Kenyan families- the Foreign Office attempted to appeal but they appeal failed.

The Foreign Office is now negotiating with the families- but the Foreign Office now fears that many former colonies may now seek to do the same. The people of Bengal could sue the British government from failing to prevent (or even acting to prevent) the Bengal famine in 1942 in-which up to 4 million people died. Various other countries from Malaysia to the Americas could sue for all kinds of colonial atrocities. Last February, David Cameron went to the Indian city of Amritsar and apologised for the Amritsar massacre which was depicted in Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi. Up to a 1,000 people were killed in that massacre.

Financial compensation is something the British government would rather avoid- The German Government still pays Israel reparations for the Holocaust. The Germans began paying Israel in 1952- the exact amount is unknown but it is in the billions-which Germany pays every year. Imagine then how much Britain might end-up paying-as Britain at one point colonized a quarter of the globe.

Despite this- there exists historic amnesia about the British Empire in the wider society. If you walk down any high-street in Britain you will see remnants of the British Imperial past. In the 19th century- when Britain ‘came into’ possession of India- the job of transporting and organising Muslim pilgrims to go to Mecca fell to them. The Government didn’t know how to deal with all these pilgrims or how to organise it. They then outsourced it to a man who had some previous success in organising trips to other countries. This man set-up an agency and he successfully managed to get the pilgrims to Mecca. The man’s name? Thomas Cook.

Other British institutions also have either their origins in or ties to empire. HSBC bank was formed of other banks including one bank, which was set-up by royal decree from Queen Victoria; it was called the Imperial Bank of Persia (Iran) and it gave the British government control of the Iranian Government’s finances and debt. This helped created other British institutions including a joint Anglo-Iranian oil company, which is today called BP. These are not institutions that are hidden, there in our high streets- and yet we do not know or understand their former roles. It may not be as serious as torture or murder- but they all form part of continuing control and influence that resonates to this day. The Empire and Colonialism may have been dismantled but the exploitative foundations were set to last centuries.

The Kenyan files have received very little attention (with the odd exception) in the media- it is as if like the government, the media would rather forget the colonial past. Historians such as Max Hastings want non of it:

it is cringe-making to watch the spectacle of citizens of former colonies that have been independent for many decades turning up in London to exploit our feeble-minded justice system."

This story is important for us as a society, because those who don’t learn from their history are doomed to repeat it. The Kenyan files, by the Government’s own admission reveal systematic and shameful. Of course individuals should be compensated, but also the sovereign nation too should be adequately recompensed by the companies which profited from colonialism, and the State which sponsored them.

It’s not just the Ghosts of Empire who will not rest, it is also the son’s and daughters of African’s around the world who demand justice too.

Usman Butt