Why did the British Empire burn, sink, and hide these documents? - Audra A. Diptée
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In 2009, five Kenyan people took a petition to the British Prime Minister. They claimed they endured human rights abuses in the 1950s, while Kenya was under British colonial rule, and demanded reparations. They had no documentary evidence that Britain sanctioned systems of torture— but thousands of secret files were waiting to be discovered. Audra Diptée digs into the Operation Legacy documents.
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In 2005, Harvard history professor Caroline Elkins published the book, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya, which went on to win a 2006 Pulitzer Prize. Elkins's work, which includes a host of firsthand accounts, details the torture and abuse of native Kenyans in the waning days of British colonialism, as well as the British government's organized efforts to cover up these atrocities. This project of concealment was codenamed Operation Legacy, and in 2013, a portion of these suppressed documents were declassified and can now be accessed at the National Archive in London.
Elkins was among the expert witnesses — along with David Anderson (author of Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire) and Huw Bennet (author of Fighting the Mau Mau: The British Army and Counter-Insurgency in the Kenya Emergency) — to bolster a groundbreaking legal case accusing the British government of human rights abuses. The case was brought by Ndiku Mutua, Paulo Nzili, Gitu Wa Kahengeri, Jane Muthoni Mara, and Wambugu Wa Nyingi — five Kenyans who were victims of torture in the 1950s when the British colonial government was attempting to suppress the Mau Mau insurgency. In June 2013, a settlement was reached in the amount of £19.9 million to be distributed among 5,228 claimants. Click here to read the full transcript of the settlement.
To learn more about this landmark legal battle and Operation Legacy, watch the 2018 documentary titled Operation Legacy, which details the intricacies of the British government's cover-up. You can also watch The Last Battle, an in-depth piece from Al Jazeera, which follows the Kenyan plaintiffs through their fight for justice.
Elkins was among the expert witnesses — along with David Anderson (author of Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire) and Huw Bennet (author of Fighting the Mau Mau: The British Army and Counter-Insurgency in the Kenya Emergency) — to bolster a groundbreaking legal case accusing the British government of human rights abuses. The case was brought by Ndiku Mutua, Paulo Nzili, Gitu Wa Kahengeri, Jane Muthoni Mara, and Wambugu Wa Nyingi — five Kenyans who were victims of torture in the 1950s when the British colonial government was attempting to suppress the Mau Mau insurgency. In June 2013, a settlement was reached in the amount of £19.9 million to be distributed among 5,228 claimants. Click here to read the full transcript of the settlement.
To learn more about this landmark legal battle and Operation Legacy, watch the 2018 documentary titled Operation Legacy, which details the intricacies of the British government's cover-up. You can also watch The Last Battle, an in-depth piece from Al Jazeera, which follows the Kenyan plaintiffs through their fight for justice.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Audra A. Diptée
- Director Hernando Bahamon
- Narrator Christina Greer
- Composer Manuel Borda
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Produced by Anna Bechtol, Abdallah Ewis
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
