Mau Mau goes legit
The week's news at a glance.
Nairobi
Kenya registered the Mau Mau anti-colonial group as an official organization this week, a move that paves the way for the surviving fighters to sue Britain. Mau Mau was a rebel group, made up mostly of ethnic Kikuyus, that killed several dozen British soldiers and white settlers during the 1950s, when Kenya was a British colony. The British government responded by detaining more than 70,000 Kikuyus in prison camps for years, and hanging more than 1,000. The resulting civil war ultimately brought Kenya independence in 1963, but Mau Mau remained a banned group. The Mau Mau Trust is now suing the British government for compensation, saying many of its fighters were tortured during the war.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mountainhead: Jesse Armstrong's tech bro satire sparkles with 'weapons-grade zingers'
The Week Recommends The Succession creator's first feature film lacks the hit TV show's 'dramatic richness' – but makes for a horribly gripping watch
-
Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists – a 'riveting' exhibition
The Week Recommends Pallant House exhibition offers fascinating instances of painterly reciprocity
-
Geoff Dyer shares his favourite books on war
The Week Recommends Out of Sheer Rage author chooses works by Martha Gellhorn, Michael Herr and Dexter Filkins