British legal aid for rape claims

Hundreds of Kenyan women are to receive British legal aid to allow them to pursue a rape claim against the British ministry of defence.

A total of 650 women - mostly from the Maasai ethnic group - are to benefit from the funding. They all claim they were raped by British soldiers stationed in Kenya between 1972 and 2002.

"The legal aid is the start of the process of us suing the MoD for negligence in failing to take steps to prevent the rapes taking place," said the lawyer representing the women, Martyn Day.

Evidence in the form of police and hospital records as well as statements from local authorities is available for about 100 of the cases. There are also about 40 mixed-race children, whose mothers claim are the result of rape.

The claimants allege that the soldiers often "hunted them down in packs" and many stated that they had been gang-raped, said a statement issued by Day's office.

Despite repeated complaints by Kenyan officials and tribal leaders, British officers turned a blind eye to the problem, it said.

Day has admitted that a number of the women who have come forward, including commercial sex workers, have questionable claims. But he told IRIN he believed that about 500 of them were genuine.

He said he hoped to initiate proceedings in the High Court in London "quite shortly" and that the claims for each victim would amount to between US $33,000 and US $42,000.

The Royal Military Police have begun a criminal investigation into the alleged rapes. Rights group Amnesty International is also calling for a public inquiry into the matter.

The British army sends about 3,000 soldiers to Kenya each year for target practice at five military ranges. The army barracks is based in the town of Nanyuki, close to Mount Kenya.