Hundreds of documents, released

during a legal case at the High

Court, shed an unprecedented light
on the mistreatment of detainees
during the Mau Mau rebellion in
Kenya in the 1950s. Here are a
selection of the most important:
Billy Kenber
The Times
 Cover letter by Governor Baring to
Alan Lennox-Boyd, Secretary of
State for the Colonies
Reference: CO 822/1251/E/1

25/06/1957

The letter shows that the Governor consulted the Colonial Secre-
tary on detainee abuse and the ‘dilution technique’. Governor
Baring writes that it was necessary that “hard cases” are dealt
with in a “rough way”, and notes that the Attorney General is
drafting regulations to legalise the mistreatment of detainees.
 Secret Memorandum from Eric Griffiths-Jones,
attorney general of Kenya
“‘Dilution’, Detention Camps - Use of
force in enforcing discipline”
Reference: CO 822/1251/E/1

25/06/1957

The lengthy memorandum describes in detail the treatment of

detainees in screening camps. Those who show “any reluctance or
hesitation” are immediately beaten, with increasingly extreme
measures carried out on the most recalcitrant detainees.
 Letter from Colonel Young to
Governor Baring
Reference: AA 45/55/2/2A

22/11/1954

Writing a month before he decided to resign, Colonel Young, a

British police officer on secondment from the City of London
police, describes the “horror” of the screening camps. He calls
for a full investigation of “increasing allegations of inhumanity”
and pleads for the basic elements of justice to be observed.
 Telegram from Governor Baring to
Alan Lennox-Boyd, Secretary of
State for the Colonies
Reference: E 16/3/8A

17/01/1955

The telegram outlines brutal allegations made against eight white

District Officers, including the “murder by beating up and roasting
alive of one African”. No action was taken against the officers.
 Letter from Carruthers Melvill
‘Monkey’ Johnston, special commissioner
for Central Province
Reference: AA 45/35/1A

02/02/1956

Carruthers ‘Monkey’ Johnston was a public-school educated civil

servant renowned for his “flawless” dinner parties. He was
implicated in several attempts to cover up alleged atrocities,
and here he warns that if investigations don’t cease “every one
of us, from the Governor downwards, may be in danger of removal
from the public service”.
Letter from D.W. Conroy, Solicitor-
General, to the Attorney-General
Reference: AA 45/55/2/17

23/11/1959

D.W. Conroy lists ongoing abuses of detainees, including

solitary confinement, starvation and genital mutilation.
He reports that detainees at Kianyaga Police Station were
“ill-treated and tortured to make them confess”.
 Letter from Special Branch Embu to
Special Branch Headquarters

Rehabilitation Methods: Mwea Camps

Reference: AA 57A Vol V

28/11/1959

The letter reports on the admission and screening process at

the Mwea camps. It describes how detainees are forced to place
a stone bucket on their head and run around in circles until
they confess – the so-called ‘Mwea technique’.
Report on a visit to Mwea Camps by the
Secretary for Community Development

Reference: AA 57A Vol V

16/06/1957

The report describes a visit to the Mwea camps, and the abuses
witnessed there, including beatings and water treatment. The
Permanent Secretary warns: “Were the methods employed to become
public knowledge…then the disgust expressed by the Judge in the
Court will be mild in comparison.”