For the best part
of my life in Mombasa I live in the moment. Flitting from one thing to the next,
life seems full to the brim with endless activities. Recently, it has been my
role within the local theatre society’s pantomime ‘Humpty Dumpty’ which has ballooned into my
evening time. Rehearsals currently occur in a friend’s back garden, with the
night slowly drawing in, and her extensive array of animals giving an ear in listening to the evening’s proceedings. I am the Captain. As the male love
interest, I attempt to capture the Princess Penelope’s heart, ignoring my lowly
status to woo the stunning beauty. While the power of the army has never
appealed, I now get to concoct a life of routine, marching and giving orders. I
clomp around giving a persona of feigned importance, failing to exude anything
but comedy in my attempt to convey the intricacies of army life. It is curious to
think that it was less than 60 years ago that British officers were within
Kenya doing it for real. |
| Mau Mau rebels celebrate their victory |
Reading the BBC news last week I was reminded of that fact. History forcefully assaulted my ability to live in the
moment and I was left feeling rather humbled, thinking about the atrocities of
colonial-rule Kenya in the 1950s. Last week, on Friday 5th October, the
British government finally accepted liability for the brutal acts of torture
and humiliation enforced against the Mau Mau rebels during the fight for Kenyan
independence - a landmark case as it was the first time Britain had been sued
by a former colony. The Mau Mau rebel group was formed by disenchanted Kikuyu
people whose land had been snatched by white settlers. According to Harvard
academic Ervine, the British colonial powers, as retaliation to the rebel’s
demands, detained almost the entire Kikuyu population and deprived the detainees
of food, almost to the point of famine – arguably as a tactic to maintain
control and restore their mission of civilizing the population. By the time the
rebels were defeated in 1956 the death toll stood at approximately 13,500
Africans compared to 100 Europeans. It is a pleasant surprise (if not miracle) therefore,
that walking down the road in Mombasa, there seems little animosity felt
towards the British, or the colonial powers.
Where has the negative energy from such violence been channeled, one may
wonder? It seems to have transformed into an overriding wish for justice by the
rebels. Mr Wa Nyingi, a Mau Mau veteran who had been imprisoned for 9 years
under brutal conditions said "I have brought this case because I want the
world to know about the years I have lost and what was taken from a generation
of Kenyans.” One can appreciate the pain of such proceedings in having to
re-live the memories in pursuit of holding Britain accountable and increasing
awareness worldwide.
I am therefore shocked to the point of incredulity by the failure of the
Kenyan press to cover such a landmark story. I eagerly bought a copy of the
Saturday Nation at the weekend to track the newspaper coverage of the
revelation. Flicking through the newspaper, the article was conspicuous in its
absence. My surprise bubbled with the knowledge that the aims of the Mau Mau
rebels were being flouted by the very country which should support them. Yes, I
realise that as a British ‘alien’ in Kenya, I should be wary of any article sparking
such anti-British sentiment, yet half of me wanted to publicise the news from
the rooftops.
It is with this conviction I decided to write this blog entry. Not as a
Brit apologising for the brutality of the 1950s genocide (I realise I am just
one small figure in a very big ocean on that account), but merely as a
pseudo-journalist trying to cover a news story which the Kenyan press omitted
with what appears to be purposeful ignorance.
