By Amos Khaemba
The Akamba community has initiated a landmark legal case against the UK government, demanding reparations, land restoration, and an official apology for colonial injustices that caused widespread impoverishment and political marginalisation.
NLP Leader Augustus Muli Files Historic Cases Against British Govt on Behalf of Akamba Community The case, spearheaded by Augustus Kyalo Muli, National Patron of the Anzauni Clan and the party Leader of the National Liberal Party, alleges that British colonial authorities dispossessed the Akamba of their fertile lands, seized their cattle, outlawed cultural practices such as the brewing of kaluvu, and confined them to semi-arid regions with inadequate rainfall.
The actions allegedly destroyed traditional livelihoods, forcing the Akamba into bondage as soldiers and laborers, described as “subjection by starvation.” Muli argues that the Akamba people, numbering around five million, still face economic and political hardship stemming from colonial policies.
In Makueni, many elders reportedly remain in inadequate housing near the railway, generations after being displaced from their ancestral lands. What is the legal strategy deployed by Muli? Muli has assembled a formidable legal team, combining the expertise of Leigh Day Solicitors of London, Bosek & Co. Advocates of Kenya, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
Leigh Day previously secured compensation and an apology for Mau Mau survivors in 2013, while Bosek & Co. are currently pursuing a case for the Kipsigis and Talai communities at the European Court of Human Rights. The Kenya Human Rights Commission has a track record of documenting colonial abuses and advocating for reparations. The evidence presented includes District Commissioner reports, Hansard records from 1938 acknowledging cattle seizures, recent court findings confirming ongoing dispossession in Makueni, and petitions highlighting continued cultural suppression.
READ ALSO Sheria Mtaani threatens legal action over plan to give EACC prosecutorial powers Legal basis of Muli's case against British government The claim cites international conventions and precedents, including the ILO Forced Labour Convention of 1930, the right to development under international law, and the African Court’s ruling in Ogiek v Kenya (2022), which ordered land restitution and reparations for indigenous communities.
The Akamba community demands a formal apology from the UK Parliament, compensation for five million Akamba people, and restitution of alienated Crown Lands, starting with 5,048 acres in Makueni. They also seek cultural restoration through legalization of Kaluvu and repatriation of artifacts, as well as a development fund for schools, hospitals, water, and industries.
Muli calls for unity among the 22 Akamba clans to support the claim by providing witnesses and preserving family records and burial sites as evidence, emphasising that persistence will lead to eventual success despite the potentially lengthy legal proc Tuko News
