Calls to the British government to compensate Kenyans for atrocities committed during the colonial rule continue as King Charles III and Queen Camilla tour the country.
on Thursday, Kericho Governor Erick Mutai added his voice to the demand for compensation and official apology from Britain for historical land and human rights violations meted out during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
He said the ills committed against members of the Kipsigis Talai clan living in the county, should be addressed during the King's visit. Dr Mutai added that it was the right time for King Charles III to address the long-standing Talai clan grievances who continue to suffer from landlessness.
The suffering, he said, was a result of the British colonial government's Laibon Removal Ordinance of 1934, which forcibly displaced them from their ancestral land. Speaking in Litein town, the governor argued that the King's apology fell short of addressing the comprehensive scope of human rights abuses.
"The apology primarily focused on Mau Mau victims, leaving out Kipsigis Talai clan, which endured severe injustices that have not been acknowledged by the King," he said.
The governor called on King to extend reparations to all victims of human rights violations during Queen Elizabeth II's reign. "Britain must provide equitable compensation, especially to members of the Talai clan, who have never received restitution from the British government for their forced eviction to make way for tea plantations owned by United Kingdom-based tea firms," Mutai said.
He also said his administration wants from the British government was a bursary and scholarship scheme for members of the Talai clan to study in the UK. "They must also get monetary compensation for the parcels of land which they lost after the British colonial government evicted them to create land for tea plantations," said Mutai.
Dickson Sitienei, the Kipsigis Talai clan's patron, underlined the significance of the Laibon removal ordinance XXXIII of 1934, a decree sanctioned by King George V.
The ordinance, never repealed to this day, facilitated the British colonial government's forceful removal of 700 Talai clan members from their ancestral lands in Kericho, exiling them to the Tse Tse fly-infested Gwasi in what is now Homa Bay County.
1914 marked another grievous blow for the clan when the British deported their foremost leader, Kipchomber Arap Koilegen, to Murang'a. His brothers, Kipngetich Arap Boisio and Kibuigut Singoei met similar fates, being deported to Nyeri and Meru.
Sitienei asserted the importance of bringing their plight to the attention of King Charles III.
