Decades after they suffered castration, rape and beating during a crackdown by British forces in Kenya, thousands of fighters from the Mau Mau movement who were tortured during the Kenyan "emergency" of 1952-1960 will finally be compensated, the Mail Online reports.
Britain's foreign office declined to comment on reports that the settlement — expected to be announced as early as Thursday — would total about $21 million.
Whatever the amount, some predict that it will open the way to claims from other former colonies where allegations of torture have been made, notably in Cyprus; Malaysia; and Aden, Yemen.
Negotiations began after a London court ruled in October that three elderly Kenyans, who suffered castration, rape and beatings while in detention during a crackdown by British forces and their Kenyan allies in the 1950s, could sue Britain.
The torture took place during the so-called Kenyan 'Emergency' of 1952-60, when fighters from the Mau Mau movement attacked British targets, causing panic among white settlers and alarming the government in London.
'We have agreed on an out-of-court settlement,' Kenyan lawyer Paul Muite, an advisor to the Mau Mau veterans seeking compensation, said.
'(The negotiations) have included everybody with sufficient evidence of torture. And that number is about 5,200,' he said, declining to comment on the size of the payout.
A formal announcement on the settlement is expected as early as Thursday. Britain's foreign office declined to comment on reports that the settlement would total £14million.
Read more at the Mail Online.