Former Freedom Fighters Demand Allocation Of Land Under The Hands Of Foreigners
One of the freedom fighters addressing the media
By MTK Correspondents
A section of former freedom fighters alongside some descendants of Mau Mau want to be allocated pieces of land currently owned foreigners who were beneficiaries of forceful take over before independence.
The former freedom fighters say some of leases had expired and others were about to expire and instead of being renewed, the land should revert to Kenyans.
At the same time, the members of various Mau Mau groups as well as a caucus of some of the descendants want the Kenya and British government to address the issue of their compensation for atrocities meted against them when agitating for freedom.
Speaking at White Rhino hotel in Nyeri town where they had a special meeting on Sunday, they noted that in 2013, the British government compensated about 5,200 former freedom fighters only.
One descendant, Bishop George Kamunya said although the slightly over 5,000 Kenyans were compensated, the initiative left hundreds of thousands of others with nothing.
Kamunya, a nephew of Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima said those left behind have been seeking compensation in vain.
“In 2013, about 5,000 Mau Mau fighters were compensated. But were there only 5,000 people who fought for independence? There many people including my aunt Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima who received nothing,” Bishop Kamunya who was accompanied by dozens of former freedom fighters and their descendants noted.
In June 2013, the British government released about KSh340,000 for 5,228 former freedom fighters who had filed a case demanding compensation for torture and abuse meted upon them between 1952 and 1960 when they were seeking independence. The case was filed by a few Kenyans on behalf of the thousands.
The team, which was meeting under the auspices of Mau Mau War Veterans Association and Mau Mau Children Post Colonial Elites is spearheaded by James Njuguna Mahuria who is the chairman of Jeremiah Mugi Foundation.
The meeting resolved that the groups would pursue the monetary and land compensation from Kenyan and British governments.
The group said they would be presenting a petition to the concerned governments.
The hundreds of former freedom fighters and their descendants who met in Nyeri over the weekend were drawn from different parts of the country.
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