Kericho Governor takes case against British to UN rights council

Governor Paul Chepkwony (second right) during registration for the suit against the UK. [Nikko Tanui]

Governor Paul Chepkwony and a team of lawyers will tomorrow present grievances against the British government by the Talai clan and Kipsigis community at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The community accuses the British colonial government of committing atrocities against its members.

According to Prof Chepkwony and lawyers, Rodney Dixon and Kimutai Bosek, a meeting has been scheduled where they will present the community's grievances before the UN special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice and reparation.

Legal team

“The legal team and I will be at United Nations UN Human Rights Council's headquarters in Geneva whereby we are going to present complaints and lay bare the atrocities which were committed against our people,” said the governor.

“The matter is very grave and we believe that the British government will be indicted by the UN and compelled to compensate victims of the historical injustices,” he said.

Up to 150,000 people have registered in the Sh2 trillion suit against the British government for atrocities suffered during the compulsory acquisition of their land by colonialists during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

An estimated 800,000 acres in South Rift alone are currently in the hands of multinational tea companies based in the United Kingdom (UK)

According to Bosek, there is enough evidence to unmask the British government's human rights violations.

“The British government has been fashioning itself as a custodian of civilization, and convinced the world to turn away from what it did in Kenya particularly against the Kipsigis community and the Talai but our evidence will pose a headache to the British worse than Brexit" he said.

Bosek, said the case will not only be built on oral evidence but also on archival materials and writings by scholars.