The records the British Empire didn't want you to see - Audra A. Diptée

Summary

In the 1950s, during British colonial rule, Kenyans endured severe human rights abuses, with over 80,000 imprisoned without trial and many subjected to torture. A 2009 petition to the British Prime Minister led to the discovery of Operation Legacy, a policy to destroy or remove incriminating colonial documents. Over 20,000 hidden files from 37 former colonies were found, revealing the truth of British colonial atrocities. The British government issued a formal apology and financial settlement to 5,228 Kenyan claimants, challenging the myth of benevolent colonialism.

Takeaways

• 🇬🇧 In 2009, five Kenyans petitioned the British Prime Minister for reparations, alleging human rights abuses during the 1950s under British colonial rule.
• 📜 They faced skepticism due to the lack of documentary evidence directly linking Britain to sanctioned torture systems in Kenya.
• 🕵️‍♂️ A historian's testimony in 2010 led to the discovery of over 1,500 secret files in a high-security British archive, hinting at a larger cover-up.
• 🔍 The court-ordered release of documents revealed Operation Legacy, a British policy to destroy or remove incriminating colonial documents.
• 🔥 Operation Legacy involved the destruction or secret transportation of sensitive documents to prevent new governments from accessing them.
• 🗂️ Over 20,000 hidden Operation Legacy files were found across 37 former colonies, with an estimated 1.2 million colonial files exposed in total.
• 🏢 The British administration in Kenya had forcibly removed people from their lands, implemented forced labor, and restricted Indigenous African movements.
• 🛡️ The state of emergency declared in 1952 allowed the British to use illegal measures, including imprisonment without trial and extreme interrogation tactics.
• 😱 The documents confirmed horrific abuses against Kenyan resistance members, including imprisonment, torture, and death.
• 🙏 In response to the evidence, the British government issued a formal apology and reached a financial settlement with 5,228 Kenyan claimants.
• 📚 The uncovered files challenge the myth of British colonialism as benevolent, revealing a darker, more oppressive history.

Q & A

What was the main claim of the five Kenyan petitioners to the British Prime Minister's office in 2009?

The five Kenyans claimed they endured human rights abuses during the 1950s under British colonial rule and demanded reparations.

Why were the initial testimonies of the petitioners undermined?

Their testimonies were undermined because they had no documentary evidence that Britain sanctioned systems of torture against Kenyans.

What was the role of the historian who joined the trial as an expert witness in 2010?

The historian attested to having seen references to missing documents and noted that Kenya had repeatedly requested the return of stolen papers, which the British government had refused.

What was Operation Legacy, and how was it related to the case?

Operation Legacy was a colonial British policy where colonial officers were instructed to destroy, alter, or secretly transport documentation that might incriminate Britain to the UK, obscuring the truth about colonial abuses.

How many previously hidden Operation Legacy files were located by an independent historian during the trial?

The independent historian revealed they had located more than 20,000 previously hidden Operation Legacy files from 37 former colonies.

What was the estimated number of colonial files exposed in the 'Special Collections' of the archive?

An estimated 1.2 million colonial files were exposed in the archive's 'Special Collections'.

What were the British administration's actions in Kenya starting from 1895?

The British administration forcibly removed people from their traditional lands, gave the most fertile areas to European settlers, mandated forced labor systems, implemented reservations for Indigenous African peoples, and restricted their movement.

What abuses were confirmed by the Operation Legacy documents to have been inflicted on Kenyans between 1952 and 1959?

The abuses included imprisoning over 80,000 people without trial, sentencing over 1,000 as terrorists to death, imposing extreme surveillance and interrogation tactics, beatings, rapes, castrations, and even killings.

What was the outcome of the case for the original five Kenyan claimants and the British government?

The British government issued a formal apology and made an out-of-court financial settlement with the 5,228 Kenyan claimants involved in the case.

How did the uncovered files challenge the myths about British colonialism?

The files challenged the myth of British colonialism as a benevolent institution by exposing the truth about the abuses and atrocities committed during colonial rule, rather than the narrative of bringing freedom and democracy.

What was the significance of the original five claimants in the case?

The original five claimants made history by paving the way for the truth about British colonial abuses in Kenya to be acknowledged and for history to be rewritten more accurately.