Mau Mau tell Law Society of Kenya to keep-off British payout

By Abigael Sum

Kenya: The Mau Mau War Veterans Association (MMWVA) has asked the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to keep off matters concerning their compensation by the British Government.

The Mau Mau Veterans claim that since MMWVA, Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Leigh Day (a British law firm) reached an out of court compensation settlement with the British Government; the LSK has embarked on a smear campaign against them.

MMWVA Secretary General Gitu Kahengeri claims that LSK Chairman Eric Mutua and CEO Apollo Mboya have made comments bordering on character assassination by calling them fraudsters and that the LSK official could be liable for libel.

“They have made accusations that our lawyer (Leigh Day) did not get the consent of the 5,228 torture victims who qualified for compensation from the British Government. This accusation is simply not true,” said Gitu.

He added that they fear the reason why Mutua has put up a strong fight against them is because he has always had a personal interest in the Mau Mau matter.

“All this continued opposition to our settlement by Mutua is nothing but pursuit of personal interests and an attempt to demonstrate to his clients,” added Gitu.

LSK will Monday file a suit in the High Court to force Leigh Day to release a list of 5,228 former Mau Mau freedom fighters expected to get Sh330,000 each following a Sh2.6 billion shillings compensation offer.