Kenya's Bloody Summer: Mau Mau, Somali Askris and British Colonials

[Caano Geel]

For those that may be interested (probably David Lateman only ) this is an investigation of the mass murder of Kenyan Kikuyus by Somali colonial askaris under the control of a mad british officer in 1953.

 

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A file: War Office 32/16103 makes very disturbing reading. It reveals how on the 17th and 18 th of June 1953, soldier's of the British Army's, King's African rifles slaughtered twenty two Kenyan civilians. They were rounded up, on two separate groups, taken into a forest near the town of Chuka in the central Kenyan highlands and then shot or bayoneted.

 

The incidents happened during the height of the Mau Mau insurgency. Yet these men, far from being Mau Mau members, were actually members of the British Colonial Home Guard. One of the dead, who were simply left to lie where they fell, was just 12 years-old.

 

A Company of the The 5 th Battalion of the King's African Rifles were commanded by the now notorious British officer, Major Gerry Griffiths. Griffiths, who was also a Kenyan settler, bore a deep grudge towards the local Kikuyu tribe after blaming one of them for killing his horse. He even went as far as offering rewards for shooting them. He told his men that should they happen to kill a Kikuyu who was employed by the government or a civilian firm, they could always stick a panga knife in his dead hand to make it look like he was a Mau Mau fighter.

 

Griffiths was as aquitted of murder at his first court-martial, but found guilty on 2 counts of GBH and 3 counts of "disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind" at his second court-martial (see PRO file: WO 71/1221), but neither he, nor any other British soldier has ever been tried or convicted for the slaughter in the woods. Records held in the Kenyan National Archive in Nairobi show that the British government did compensate the families of the 22 victims in what they described as " blood money ". That was supposed to mark the end of the matter

 

Until now the file that details this story has been kept tightly closed. Half a century later, 11 pages remain secret despite repeated requests under the Freedom of Information Act and continuing protests from the Kenyan government. Document's Mike Thomson investigates why.

 

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[Chimera]

I read this a year ago caano but it is disgusting how much emphasis is put on this ''little'' incident to the point it sparked an investigation(probably because the ringleader was white oehh evil whitey again) but the Wagalla massacre which killed thousands of Boranas,Somalis and other groups living in NFD is completly denied by that corrupt government Somalia should have invaded them directly analysts say the Somali army even after the Soviet-cuban counter offensive was far superior to that pathetic Kenyan armed forces

[Caano Geel]

True, though i wouldn't call it little - just better documented than the countless others, hence the investigation ....

 

anyhow, who cares about dead skinies, you dont need to kill them, thei'll do it themselves for you

[Chimera]

I reject that claim brother, europeans slaughtered eachother in the tens of millions, the Chinese during their civil war slaughtered eachother in the millions we are nowhere near those freaky numbers

 

so i do care...and this massacre is also well documented by Human rights orgs which have done free lance investigations in the areas where the incident took place forcing this corrupt goverment finally after a decade or so to admit it's barbaric behaviour but still no real investigation or trials

 

Somalia will rise again wether in 10 or 20 years time and if it decides to rampage Kenya it has my blessing unconditionally

 

destroy them i don't care there not my people