PressBridge

Gitu Wa Kahengeri, Secretary General of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association, has come out strongly against the United Kingdom, saying recent decisions by British officials confirm that Britain remains unwilling to face genuine accountability for its actions in Kenya, historical or present.
Two developments triggered the current wave of anger. On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly voted to formally recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity, with 123 member states in favour. The United Kingdom abstained. Then on April 7, 2026, the British party Reform UK proposed denying visas to nationals of countries, Kenya included, that are pursuing slavery reparations from Britain. Hilary Beckles, Chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, called the visa proposal punitive and rooted in the same racial logic that drove colonialism.
Kahengeri, speaking on behalf of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association, said the two moves tell a consistent story. In his assessment, Britain will acknowledge history when politically convenient but will resist any structure that carries a legal or financial cost. He and the association have long held this position, tracing it back to the 1950s when the British colonial administration detained, tortured, and killed tens of thousands of Kenyans during the Mau Mau Uprising. In 2013, following years of legal action, the UK paid £19.9 million to 5,228 survivors and issued a formal expression of regret, but accepted no legal liability and committed to no broader reparations. Kahengeri said that settlement set a ceiling on accountability rather than a floor. Today, the association is pushing for a full reparations process.
Kahengeri and the association have simultaneously raised concerns about the British Army Training Unit Kenya, which operates in Nanyuki. A Parliamentary inquiry concluded in November 2025 documented allegations of sexual violence against local women, civilian deaths from unexploded ordnance, environmental damage, and children fathered by British soldiers and left without support. The most prominent case is that of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old last seen with British soldiers in Nanyuki in 2012, whose body was later found in a septic tank. Former British soldier Robert James Purkiss was arrested in the UK in November 2025 following a Kenyan extradition request. He denies the charges and is contesting extradition.
For Kahengeri and the veterans he represents, these incidents are not isolated exceptions. He said they reflect the same patterns of conduct made possible by the 2021 UK-Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement, which he argues limits Kenya's ability to prosecute British military personnel. In March 2026, General Sir Roland Walker, head of the British Army, conceded that British soldiers had caused harm in Kenya and called for visible justice. Kahengeri rejected the statement as acknowledgement without accountability, noting that no soldier has faced meaningful punishment and no independent oversight exists.
With the Defence Cooperation Agreement due for renegotiation before the end of 2026, Kahengeri said the association will insist that reparations be formally placed on the agenda. He called for Kenyan courts to be granted jurisdiction over serious crimes involving foreign troops, an independent oversight mechanism to be established, and restitution to be guaranteed for affected communities. In his words, accountability and legal reform are not optional but they are the conditions on which any fair and durable cooperation between Kenya and the United Kingdom must be built.

 Peter Johnson, a researcher specializing in African affairs