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By SHABAN MAKOKHA
Kakamega, Kenya: Mau Mau War Veterans have selected President William Ruto to lead a renewed campaign seeking Sh550 Trillion in compensation for colonial-era atrocities, land dispossession, and systemic injustices.
This move comes as Kenya prepares to address colonial injustices, offering a fresh impetus to the veterans’ decades-long pursuit of recognition and recompense.
Seventy years after their fight against the British Empire, the aging veterans are once again pressing for global acknowledgment of the suffering endured during the brutal Emergency period.
The veterans demonstrated unity by endorsing President Ruto as the Association’s national Patron at their Annual General Meeting at the Golf Hotel in Kakamega. He will be assisted by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
The selection of these new leaders is seen as breathing life into the hope for the long-awaited compensation. The veterans’ decision to rally behind President Ruto is fueled by the belief that his administration will champion their cause on the global stage.
Given his previous signaling of interest in addressing historical land grievances. Furthermore, Gachagua, whose family suffered under colonial rule, has been a vocal advocate for Mau Mau recognition.
“He understands our pain,” said Mzee Andrew Njeru from Meru, referring to Gachagua. “We believe this team will finally give us a seat at the table.”
According to Mau Mau War Veterans Association national Director James Mahuria, the Veterans are pushing for a joint Kenya-UK compensation framework, official apology from the British monarchy, return or compensation for stolen land and establishment of a National Restorative Justice Fund.
“We want him to come in as our national Patron but we shall push him to be the Patron of the World Federation so that people who fought in the First and Second World Wars can also be compensated,” he said.
They argue that the previous partial settlement of Sh2.6 billion paid by the British Government in 2013 to 5,228 victims was a drop in the Sea and covered only a fraction of the victims without addressing land restitution or broader historical injustices.
Veterans argue that the settlement was selective and exclusionary and that it barely scratched the surface of the vast injustices committed.
“This was just a symbolic commitment by the British Government. Only a small fraction of victims benefitted,” added Mr Mahuria. “What we are asking for is substantive. We are not begging, we are demanding what was taken from us,”
The Veterans urged the Kenya government to fast-track formal negotiations with the UK before more veterans pass on.
They revealed that the youngest surviving Mau Mau fighters are in their late 70s. Many fear dying before justice is delivered.
“We have buried too many comrades waiting. Let us not be the next. We need justice now, not after our funerals,” pleaded Mzee Andrew Njeru with emotions running high, tears flashing from his eyes yet carrying unmatched determination to see justice delivered before the sunset of his life.
Those who died are now represented by their sons and or daughters in the pursuit of compensation and justice, reminding that the fight for independence did not end in 1963 and that the ghosts of colonialism continue to shadow Kenya’s quest for healing and justice.
History has it that more than 1.5 million Kenyans were forcibly relocated into concentration villages between 1954 and 1959, while tens of thousands were detained without trial. Many survivors still bear scars both physical and emotional.
Mzee Joseph Ngumo, the Nyandarua Branch chairman said the scars they sustained fighting for liberation of the country did not fade yet many of them are living in abject poverty.
“We want to die knowing that Kenya remembers its heroes so that our children can inherit what was taken from us.” Ngumo said quietly, gripping his walking stick. “We want justice before God calls us home.”
The veterans plan to present a formal petition to President Ruto in the coming weeks, followed by international legal consultations aimed at mounting a renewed case in London.
The petition details compensation for land dispossession, torture, and other injustices suffered under British colonial rule.
They explain that the Sh550 Trillion demand from the British Government is a symbolic figure reflecting the 1.2 million hectares of their ancestral land seized by colonial rulers between 1900 and 1963.
The enduring consequences include the generational loss of family livelihoods, widespread psychological and physical trauma, and lasting economic disadvantages. These stem from atrocities committed by British soldiers, such as torture, killings, forced labour, rape, displacement, and the destruction of cultural identity.
“This amount reflects the land stolen, the torture inflicted, and the multi-generational socio-economic damage suffered by our communities,” said Mahuria.
Struggling with poverty, and the lingering trauma of war, they feel the world has conveniently forgotten them.
“We fought for this country before most leaders were born,” Ngumo said, with a trembling voice. “We therefore need justice now, not compensation written on our graves.”
Kenyans argue that the impact of colonial violence still shapes economic inequalities in modern Kenya.
“We can trace contemporary landlessness, urban poverty, and rural inequality directly to the dispossession experienced by Mau Mau families,” explained Dr Boni Khalwale, Kakamega Senator.
Adding “Paying reparations is not about money, it is about accepting responsibility for structural injustices.”
He said many of the freedom fighters were feeling betrayed by post-independence governments
Khalwale noted: “Even after independence, no one is helping them. Their children grew up poor while others enjoyed the freedom they fought for. Many of them hoped that after independence, land would be returned and they would be honored as national heroes. Instead, several say they were sidelined, stigmatized, and forced into a life of poverty.”
Already, the British Government has denounced itself from accepting legal liability for the actions of the colonial administration.
In June 2013, British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that the Sh2.6 billion payment was made in ‘full and final’ settlement after five victims who suffered under the British colonial administration brought up the matter.
He stressed that the British Government continued to deny liability for the actions of the colonial administration and indicated that it would defend claims brought from other British colonies.
“We do not believe that this settlement establishes a precedent in relation to any other former British colonial administration,” he said.
