Maasai women to sue British army for alleged rape

A group of Maasai women are to bring a civil case against the British army for alleged rapes, which took place close to army training grounds in Samburu, northern Kenya, over a 25-year period. So far, about 300 women have come forward alleging that they had been raped, about 200 of whom were "likely to be genuine", said Martyn Day, the British lawyer representing the women, who was in Kenya last week conducting investigations. Despite the fact that the alleged rapes took place between 1975 and 2000, Day said a body of evidence against the army was available: medical records proving that 30-40 of the women were raped, which included accusations agaisnt the army; contemporaneous records from the police and district officials containing accusations against the army; and a number of mixed race children. In addition he was consulting with local chiefs who had a historical knowledge of women in their communities who had been raped, he said. Day admitted that a number of women had come forward whose claims were questionable. A British ministry of defence spokesperson told IRIN that the ministry had not been aware of the allegations before the case was taken up by Martyn Day (acting for Leigh, Day & Co.). Neither had it received any formal legal notification about the alleged rapes, with a presentation of the evidence, she said. Day disputed this, stating that in at least eight different cases evidence was available which showed that army officers in Kenya were aware. He said he hoped to proceed with the case in British courts within the next two months. He added that in the rare cases where individual soldiers could be identified by victims, the Royal Military Police could take action against them. In July 2002, the same lawyer successfully won a claim of almost US $7 million against the MoD for injuries sustained by Maasai and Samburu pastoralists, as a result of unexploded bombs and ammunition left by the army on training grounds in Archer's Post and Dol Dol in northern Kenya.