mojatu.com | Nottingham connected
Obama snubbed Winston Churchill:
His role in spreading torture from India to Zimbabwe
When Barack Obama got into power, one of his first actions was to have a big growling bust of Churchill returned to Britain.
George W. Bush had left it near his desk in the White House, in an attempt to associate himself with Churchill’s heroic stand
against fascism. Obama’s choice of action is not difficult to understand. His Kenyan grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama,
was imprisoned without trial for two years and tortured on Churchill’s watch, for resisting Churchill’s empire.
Winston Churchill is fondly remembered for having led Britain
through her finest hour, against the Nazis. However, it is clear
that he was one of the biggest and most proactive leaders and
proponent for some of Britain’s most shameful acts.
He was very active in planning, establishing and maintaining
the British colonial rule and its machinery. He advocated and
fought for white supremacy and created concentration camp
networks of his own. According to Richard Toye, book, “Churchill’s
Empire”, it is vividly clear that Churchill was a white supremacist.
Churchill grew up when the superior white man was
conquering the primitive dark-skinned natives, and bringing
them the benefits of civilization. When he was of age, he set
off to play his part in “a lot of jolly little wars against barbarous
peoples.” In Pakistan, Churchill concluded that the Pakistanis
seeking to drive the white man from their land were just some
deranged jihadists whose violence was explained by a “strong
aboriginal propensity to kill.”
Having taken part in offensive against the fighters he wrote
that, “We proceeded systematically, village by village, and
we destroyed the houses, filled up the wells, blew down the
towers, cut down the shady trees, burned the crops and broke
the reservoirs in punitive devastation.”
After Pakistan, he headed to Sudan, where he boasted to his
friends that “I had personally shot at least three “savages.”
During his time in South Africa where at least 14,000 died,
his only irritation was “that kaffirs should be allowed to fire on
white men… though it was great fun galloping about.”
In the 1920s when he was a war secretary and later a colonial
secretary, he sent the notorious Black and Tans on Ireland’s
Catholics, to burn homes and beat civilians. When the Kurds
rebelled against British rule in Iraq, he said he was “strongly in
favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes.”
When Gandhi began his campaign of peaceful resistance,
Churchill angrily stated that Gadhi “ought to be lain bound
hand and foot at the gates of Delhi and then trampled on
by an enormous elephant with the new Viceroy seated on its
back.” He later added: “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people
with a beastly religion.”
In 1943, when famine broke out in Bengal, due to British
mismanagement, Churchill refused to offer ant aid leading
to hundreds of thousands deaths. He raged that it was the
Bengali’s own fault because they “breed like rabbits”.
The ruling on Mau Mau is a resounding victory for Barack
Obama whose grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama suffered
under Churchill orders. Churchill believed the most fertile land
in Kenya, the highlands, was only to be used by white settlers.
He approved the clearing out of the local “kaffirs and savages”
to ensure the land was available for the whites. When the
Kikuyu’s rebelled during Churchill’s premiership, over 150,000
of them were forced into detention camps. Obama never truly
recovered from the torture he endured.
The ruling by the High Court in London last week may be
the start of a long journey to justice for many Obama’s in the
world who suffered untold misery under Churchill and British
colonial government
Get a copy of ‘Churchill’s Empire: The World that Made Him and
the World He Made’ by Richard Toye
Mau Mau torture victims win ruling against UK government
High Court in London ruled that three Kenyans tortured by British colonial
authorities can proceed with their case against the UK government. They
argued that tho ugh the torture and abuse happened during the 1950s
Mau Mau uprising, time should not be a hindrance to justice.
Veterans clap, cheer and dance as news
comes through from London of high court
ruling that they can claim compensation
“This is a historic judgement”, said the
lawyers representing Paulo Muoka Nzili,
Wambuga Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni
Mara. The case will now go to a full trial.
But last year, the High Court ruled that
claimants - had “arguable cases in law”.
The claimant’s lawyers claim that
Mr Nzili was castrated, Mr Nyingi was
severely beaten and Mrs Mara was
subjected to appalling sexual abuse in
detention camps. Thousands of people
were killed during the Mau Mau revolt
against British rule in Kenya (see story in
page 18-19)
“I am very, very happy. The British
government has done justice because
it is a just government,” said Wambugu
Wa Nyingi, 85, speaking in the Kikuyu
language. “I just wanted the truth to be
out. Even the children of my children
should know what happened,” he said.
However, this ruling spells fear for
British government. It is afraid that
Kenyans’ victory will pave way for
others groups to take action against
UK government for torture and abuse
suffered during colonial-era. There are
fears that such ruling will lead to further
cases brought about by allegations from
countries such as Cyprus and Aden.
- By Florence Kanaiya
See Kelvin Browns Mau Mau story in
page 20-21.
9