Lawyer Karim Khan (right), Nandi County government officials and lawyers
during a press conference on March 17, 2017, when they announced plans
to sue the UK government for past colonial injustices. PHOTO | AGGREY
MUTAMBO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Lawyers for Nandi County say they have started analysing
evidence of torture incidents for a possible lawsuit against the British
government.
The claims, ranging from forced detention,
rape and killings to land grabbing may yet again force the UK, Kenya's
former coloniser, into a tight corner for its past misdeeds.
On
Thursday, lead lawyer Karim Khan told reporters the analysis will
determine whether the county government should sue for compensation or
abandon the matter altogether.
"I am not assuming
anything yet but the decision we take will be informed by the evidence
at hand," Mr Khan told journalists at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nairobi.
"But
we don't want to give false expectations to the people of Nandi
County...this is going to be a long process and we will be guided by the
evidence.
"My role will be to try and get evidence in
terms of testimonies, records and documents and I will give my advice
based on the evidence I have."
The announcement means
that a team of lawyers under Mr Khan will review available records and
continue to collect testimonies from people in Nandi who claim they were
mistreated by British colonialists.
"The Nandi people
feel, as a community, that they suffered and continue to suffer the
effects of colonialism up to now, Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat said.
The British government has tried to detach itself from blame for past injustices during their colonial time in Kenya.
BLANKET REGRET
In 2014, the UK government issued an official blanket regret after a group of Mau Mau survivors sued it for compensation.
And
while the Mau Mau were finally paid in an out-of court settlement, more
groups in Kericho and Nandi counties have emerged to accuse the British
of committing atrocities.
"The fact that one gets
compensation for one car crash doesn’t mean they can't get compensation
in another crash, Mr Khan said, referring to the previous payment to the
Mau Mau.
Mr Khan is representing both counties, but Dr
Lagat argued that Nandi County is pursuing specific issues that the
Nandi people suffered.
"We will not, as Nandi County, accept a blanket apology because what we are asking for is specific," he argued.
Specifically,
the Nandi claim British colonialists murdered their leaders such as
Koitalel arap Samoei, detained others, forcibly acquired their land
during the construction of the Kenya-Uganda Railway and disrupted their
way of life.
Dr Lagat, who says the case has the
blessings of the county assembly, has previously offered the British a
chance to reconcile with the Nandi by building an educational
institution and naming it under one of the fallen Nandi elders.
On
Thursday, he told reporters the offer is only one of the options but
Nandi County officials will rely on advice from lawyers after reviewing
evidence.
"If they (British) want the case to be
settled out of court, that is something that we will look at but they
must accept (responsibility).
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