Kenyans accept British offer over injury claims
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This injured man, seen with his new radio and his teenage wife, was among those rewarded by the settlement.
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NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- More than 1,000 Kenyans who claim they were injured by munitions discarded by the British army have accepted an out-of-court settlement of 500,000 pounds ($945,000) in compensation, their lawyer said on Friday.
The claimants, mainly poor herders, had hoped to win a larger award by repeating the success of an initial group of 233 Kenyans who accepted an offer of 4.5 million pounds in 2002 when they sued the British government over munitions-related injuries.
The latest group took up the offer after British military investigators revealed new evidence that made it harder to prove that British rather than Kenyan troops had left munitions on military training grounds in the east African country.
"They decided they would rather have their money in their pocket now, than take the risk of a trial lasting two or three years and perhaps end up with nothing if they lost," British lawyer Martyn Day told Reuters by telephone from London.
The group of 1,046 claimants were selected from about 5,000 people who came forward after news of the 2002 compensation award spread through tribes in northern Kenya.
Day said there was not enough evidence to ensure that the majority of the 5,000 had not presented injuries stemming from accidents or other causes as being caused by munitions.
Even a relatively small amount of compensation is enough to transform the lives of members of tribes like the Samburu in remote northern Kenya, many of whom live a hand-to-mouth existence in the arid region.
Day is also representing hundreds of Kenyan women who claim to have been raped by British soldiers training in Kenya over the past 30 years. Some Kenyans in the area have accused the women of inventing rape stories to try to win compensation.
Day said he planned to bring a test case involving 12 women before Britain's High Court next month, hoping to sue the government for what the claimants say is its failure to prevent the rapes which they allege took place.
British military police are conducting their own investigation in Kenya into the rape claims.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
