Reflections on justice delayed
There was jubilation in the streets of Nairobi last Thursday after the British government announced a $30 million settlement for abuses by colonial authorities during Kenya’s Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s. The settlement stemmed in large part from the work of Harvard History Professor Caroline Elkins, whose book “Imperial Reckoning,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006, detailed the system of camps set up to hold some 1.5 million Mau Mau detainees and the horrific treatment, including murder, rape, and castration, that occurred with the knowledge of colonial and British authorities. The Gazette reached Elkins by phone in Nairobi to get her thoughts on the settlement, on what it means to the aged Mau Mau detainees, and the personal journey she has taken. GAZETTE: Can you explain what happened with the ruling? ELKINS: Thursday was an historic day. It was the day the British government finally decided to settle the Mau...