Fighting the Mau Mau- The British Army and

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• Kenya declares a state of emergency against Mau Mau pp. 21-26

  When Governor Sir Evelyn Baring declared a State of Emergency on 20 October 1952, the military response to the Mau Mau began.

• Operation Jock Scott arrests the Mau Mau leadership pp. 21-26

  Launched on 20 October, it aimed to decapitate the Mau Mau leadership; 150 members of the Kenya African Union, a legal organisation connecte…

• General Erskine takes command of the security forces pp. 21-26

  The second period began when General Sir George Erskine arrived in June 1953.

• The Lari massacre and Naivasha raid escalate the war pp. 27-30

  26 March the Mau Mau attacked Lari village and Naivasha police station almost simultaneously. At Lari the Mau Mau massacred 120 civilians, w…

• Eviction of Kikuyu becomes official policy pp. 27-30

  While evicting all Kikuyu from areas where alleged Mau Mau crimes had occurred only became official policy on 15 December 1952, the authorit…

• Mass arrests and screening before Erskine's arrival pp. 31-34

  They had also, by 31 May, arrested 103,379 people, of whom 89,820 were screened.

• East Africa becomes an independent military command pp. 31-34

  On 29 May the War Office announced that East Africa, previously subordinate to Middle East Land Forces (MELF), would become an independent c…

• General China captured, giving the state an intelligence coup pp. 35-38

  when the important leader General China fell into captivity on 15 January.

• Operation Anvil seals Nairobi and detains 24,000 pp. 35-38

  Screening teams enjoyed absolute power; they detained around 24,000 people.

• Villagisation forces the Kikuyu into guarded settlements pp. 35-38

  Villagisation was thus a considerable disruption to normal life, forcing people into larger villages surrounded by barbed wire, and under Ho…

• Kimathi's capture ends the military phase pp. 39-42

  Although the Emergency continued until 12 January 1960, the military phase effectively concluded with the capture of Dedan Kimathi on 21 Oct…

• The 'double amnesty' shields security forces from prosecution pp. 39-42

  government announced a ‘double amnesty’ whereby Mau Mau surrenderers would be immune from prosecution, as would all security force members f…

• Lathbury replaces Erskine as commander-in-chief pp. 39-42

  On 2 May 1955 Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Lathbury arrived in Kenya and took over command from Erskine.

• Mau Mau lawsuit exposes the hidden Hanslope archive pp. 14-16

  In 2009 a group of Kenyans who alleged mistreatment at British hands during the Emergency began legal proceedings against the Foreign and Co…

• Erskine denies the Mau Mau any belligerent rights pp. 71-74

  After leaving Kenya in 1955, General Erskine stated: ‘there were no Prisoners of War since we were not at war and did not give the Mau Mau t…

• Britain marginalises the Geneva Conventions in the colonies pp. 79-82

  The British government participated in the negoti- ations leading to the conventions with reticence, displayed open hostility towards Common…

• Baring issues the first directive against inhuman methods pp. 124-127

  On 11 February 1953 the first directive on discipline among the security forces was issued by Governor Evelyn Baring.

• Erskine bans mutilation of the dead pp. 124-127

  Training Instruction no. 7 of 1 August stipulated that ‘Under NO circumstances will bodies be mutilated, even for identification.’

• The Chuka massacre by 'B' Company, 5 KAR pp. 200-203

  Including the two guides, twenty-two men lay dead in the forest and one dead in the Reserve.

• Chuka massacre file sealed until 2038 pp. 196-199

  The file on the Chuka massacre contains eleven pages retained by the government until 2038.

• Major Griffiths acquitted at his first court-martial pp. 128-131

  In the end Griffiths was acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the identity of the man executed with the pistol.

• Griffiths convicted at a second court-martial pp. 136-140

  The court duly found the accused guilty, and he was cashiered from the army and sent to Wormwood Scrubs prison for five years.

• The McLean Court of Inquiry clears the army pp. 136-140

  the McLean Inquiry concluded that the abnormalities mentioned were in the minority, and on the whole the army’s conduct, ‘under difficult an…

• McLean uncovers systematic torture in 7 KAR pp. 224-227

  The methods employed included beatings, burning, ‘water treatment’ and unspecified techniques.

• Chief Njiri's revenge killing at Mununga Ridge pp. 228-231

  A few days after his son Thigiru was killed in a Mau Mau attack, Chief Njiri took revenge on the local population at Mununga Ridge. In a two…

• Killings continue under the cover of 'shot escaping' pp. 228-231

  Between 2 June 1953 and 31 October 1955 at least fifty-nine people were shot attempting to escape

• Mass eviction empties the Rift Valley pp. 184-187

  By late April 1953 between 70,000 and 100,000 people had left the Rift Valley and Central Prov- inces for the Reserves, either through force…

• The army colludes with settler vigilantes, then hushes it up pp. 184-187

  revealed his anxiety about news of vigilante actions becoming public know- ledge. Fortunately, he wrote, such cases had so far been ‘hushed…

• Attorney-General condemns illegal detention of captives pp. 256-259

  The Attorney-General stated: ‘No one is going to believe that this is operationally necessary or otherwise justifi- able; it is indeed a sho…

• Erskine given power to impose martial law pp. 47-50

  When he arrived in June 1953, General Erskine was empowered by the Cabinet to assume operational command over all the security forces, and t…