Lawyers confident in firing-range action

Lawyers representing some 220 members of the Maasai and Samburu in compensation claims against the British army have said they believe the UK government could now be willing to settle the claims.

A London-based lawyer, Martyn Day, described a meeting with UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials on Thursday as "fruitful", adding that he expected to gain some compensation for his clients early next year, the East African Standard reported on Friday. Day said the MoD had been negligent in failing to remove unexploded ordnance from firing ranges in central Kenya, which subsequently killed or maimed hundreds of Maasai and Samburu pastoralists living in the area.

Claims totalling about 4 million pounds sterling (US $5.6 million) were lodged at the High Court in London in July. "I am now extremely confident we are going to get these people some money," AFP quoted Day as saying on Friday 23 November.

The Thursday meeting had been requested by the MoD following its surprise decision to drop an application to have the case heard in Kenya, rather than in the UK.

James Legei, programme officer with a local NGO, Osiligi, told IRIN on Thursday 29 November that during a recent visit to Kenya, Day had described the MoD's decision as a "promising sign" that the UK government was willing to accept liability. Osiligi had worked to publicise the dangers faced by pastoralists in the area, and had been put in touch with the UK legal team with the help of the international NGO Actionaid, Legei said on Thursday.

If the MoD had succeeded in having the case heard in Kenya, legal aid would not have been available to the claimants as it is in the UK, forcing them to stop the action. The MoD has denied responsibility for the deaths and injuries, initially saying that the shells in question were not necessarily left by its own soldiers, and subsequently claiming that the Kenyan government, and not the British army, was responsible for the safety of civilians living near the ranges.

According to Legei, British army representatives had failed to attend a recent workshop organised by Osiligi which aimed to find a permanent solution to the problem of discarded, unexploded ordnance. Kenyan army representatives did attend the meeting, however, and were "very surprised" to discover the extent of the problem, he said.

The British army has conducted live-fire weapons training in Kenya since 1945, when London still practised colonial rule over the country. Day claimed the British army had been aware of the problems caused by the unexploded shells for decades, but had chosen to do nothing to solve them.

The Archer's Post and Dol Dol firing ranges, which the British army continues to use, are in areas of central Kenya where many Maasai and Samburu pastoralists live and graze their sheep and cattle. The plaintiffs claim there are four or five deaths per year in the Archer's Post area, where 20,000 Samburu pastoralists have their homes.

If the case were to be heard in England and be successful, UK-levels of compensation ranging from 5,000 pounds sterling ($7,000) to 150,000 pounds sterling ($210,000) should be applied, with the average payout for the 220 Kenyans currently involved being 25,000 pounds sterling ($35,000) to 30,000 pounds sterling ($42,000), AFP quoted Day as saying. Between five and 15 percent of ordnance fired during training failed to explode, and the final number of claimants could rise to 250, Day added.

Legei confirmed there were probably many more victims who were yet to come forward. "As the area of investigation increases, more people are coming forward. Every time the legal team visits Kenya they uncover more cases," he said.

As part of their case, the plaintiffs have requested the British army only be allowed to continue exercises in the area under certain conditions. They must be made to clear the firing ranges of all unexploded ordnance, and to take effective precautions against any future harm to those living in the area, Legei said.

"We don't just want compensation. We want this problem addressed once and for all," he said.

According to some local reports, since legal proceedings against the MoD were started in August, the British army has made efforts to improve safety on the ranges. Notices have been put up with pictures of the dangerous ordnance to be avoided, and after each exercise the affected area is cleared with the help of some 100 hired locals, AFP reported.

According to Legei, however, there had been no improvement in safety on the firing ranges. "The army have done nothing, there are no warning signs, nothing," he said. "These munitions are still lying around."