Veteran Mau Mau freedom fighter Muthoni Mathenge has challenged Queen Elizbeth by asking the British monarch to compensate her for the torture she went through at the hands of British troops during the struggle and fight for independence in 1952.
Speaking during a televised interview with an international media outlet on Friday, June 3, Muthoni who is in her 90s asked the queen to directly compensate her.
“Let Elizabeth bring what belongs to me. That is what I want to say. No middlemen in between. Let the compensation come directly to me,” Muthoni who was speaking in her Gikuyu dialect said.
The nonagenarian further requested Queen Elizabeth to look for a sensible person who will directly deliver the compensation to her in Kenya.
Muthoni claims she and her late husband were part of the Mau Mau rebellion which began in 1952 just after Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne.
The freedom fighter said the British troops went to her house in search of her husband who by that time was in the forest with other freedom fighters.
“I told them I had not seen him for days. I refused to tell them. Informing on the fighters was like signing your own death warrant,” she added.
Muthoni further stated that British troops tortured her hoping she would give up her husband’s location.
She said helped her find her husband after the British soldiers tortured her using an axe.
“He nursed my wounds and even my legs. Even take a look at this leg. You can see it was pierced with an axe twice,” she said.
However, Muthoni was later on captured by the British troops and along with thousands of other Kenyans, she was detained in inhumane conditions as thousands of other Kenyans were killed.
“At times the dead bodies could fill up to two lorries. And we would bury them all day. We were not allowed inside the camp until we buried them all. We would bury six people per grave. We had to pile them on top of each other,” she said.
In June 2013, the British government paid out 20 million euros to over 5,000 Kenyans who were tortured by the British colonial forces. However, Muthoni claims she was left out of the compensation.
Addressing the House of Commons, William Hague, then the Foreign Secretary said the British government recognises that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.
“I would like to make clear now, and for the first time, on behalf of Her Majesty’s government, that we understand the pain and grievance felt by those who were involved in the events of the emergency in Kenya,” he told the Commons.