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Sins of colonialists lay concealed for decades in secret archive

Publié par Clifford Armion le 18/04/2012

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Ian Cobain and Richard Norton-Taylor

In June 1957, Eric Griffiths-Jones, the attorney general of the British administration in Kenya, wrote to the governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, detailing the way the regime of abuse at the colony's detention camps was being subtly altered.

From now on, Griffiths-Jones wrote, for the abuse to remain legal, Mau Mau suspects must be beaten mainly on their upper body, "vulnerable parts of the body should not be struck, particularly the spleen, liver or kidneys", and it was important that "those who administer violence … should remain collected, balanced and dispassionate".

Almost as an after-thought, the attorney general reminded the governor of the need for complete secrecy. "If we are going to sin," he wrote, "we must sin quietly."
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Pour citer cette ressource :

"Sins of colonialists lay concealed for decades in secret archive", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), avril 2012. Consulté le 29/03/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/sins-of-colonialists-lay-concealed-for-decades-in-secret-archive