Kenyan Tribes Sue UK Government For Reparations
Two Kenyan tribes, the Talai and Kipsigis from the region of Kericho, have launched a lawsuit against the Government of the United Kingdom. The lawsuit, filed in the European Court of Human Rights, accuses the government of land theft, torture, and mistreatment. There are also multiple accusations of sexual violence and imprisonment, although these won’t be the main focus of the lawsuit.
These crimes against humanity occurred during the colonial era, allegedly taking place between 1895 and Kenya’s independence in 1963. The Kenyans are seeking a full investigation into the issue as well as compensation for the land stolen. While the court decides the suitable punishment, reports say the Kenyan people seek $200 billion from the lawsuit.
“The UK government has ducked and dived, and sadly avoided every possible avenue of redress. We have no choice but to proceed to court for our clients so that history can be righted,” said lawyer Joel Kimutai Bosek, who is a legal representative for the group from Kericho.
The tribes allege that they were displaced from their land and forced to live in an area plagued with mosquitoes, tsetse flies, and other insects. Living in these conditions led to illness, miscarriages, and death. The tribes additionally claim that they lost large numbers of livestock due to the aforementioned reasons.
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The United Nations shares the same sentiments as the Kenyans filing the lawsuit, asserting that more than 500,00 Kenyans from the region suffered abuses of their human rights including murder and displacement.
Kericho is a region in southwestern Kenya. The region is known for its warm and temperate climate, making it a perfect location for agriculture. It has become a very important source of black tea, with a number of large corporations still operating there.
“Today, some of the world’s most prosperous tea companies, like Unilever, Williamson Tea, Finlay’s, and Lipton, occupy and farm these lands and continue to use them to generate considerable profits,” the plaintiffs said in a statement. However, the former owners of the land and people presently living in the area do not benefit economically as much as these companies do even though Kenya is one of the biggest exporters of tea in the world.
“If you go to Kericho, they will tell you that the British never left. The status quo is not acceptable. It’s not sustainable,” said former Chief Justice of Kenya, Willy Mutunga.
The colonial legacy of exploitation continues presently in Africa, with employees in certain industries in some instances earning $3 a day, a wage much lower than a living wage. The UK government rarely apologizes or pays reparations for what they deem as colonial crimes. However, in 2013, the nation did compensate a group of Kenyan plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the torture of Kenyan soldiers who had carried out an uprising towards the end of Britain’s control of the country.
