A senior UK politician has sparked a storm of anger across Africa and the Caribbean after suggesting that Kenya and other former British colonies should actually pay compensation to Britain instead of the other way around.
Former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who now belongs to the far-right Reform UK party, made the shocking remarks on social media while responding to news that Jamaica is preparing to formally petition King Charles III for reparations over Britain’s role in the slave trade.
Braverman argued that the British Empire did a lot of good for the world and that its investments in infrastructure, institutions, and systems of governance helped lay the foundations for many modern democracies.
She said that while slavery was morally wrong, she does not believe that British people living today should be held financially responsible for things that happened centuries ago.
"If the government is seriously thinking about this then former colonies should pay the British back for the considerable investment, effort and contribution that this country made which laid the foundations for many flourishing democracies today," she wrote.
Kenyans Remember Mau Mau Atrocities
For many Kenyans, Braverman's words are a painful reminder of a history they have not forgotten. During the Kenya Emergency between 1952 and 1960, the British colonial government committed terrible abuses against Mau Mau freedom fighters and ordinary Kenyans. Thousands were tortured, detained in concentration camps, and killed.
It was only in 2013 that the British government finally acknowledged that Kenyans had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.
Britain agreed to pay £19.9 million in compensation to more than 5,000 elderly Kenyans who had suffered abuse. But many Kenyans feel this was just a small token compared to the immense suffering caused by colonial rule.
Jamaica Takes Historic Step
Braverman's comments came as Jamaica's Culture Minister Olivia Grange confirmed that the Caribbean nation will formally petition King Charles III to seek legal guidance on whether Britain has a legal obligation to compensate Jamaica for slavery and its lasting consequences.
The petition will ask the King to refer the matter to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Britain's final court of appeal to determine whether the forced transportation of Africans to Jamaica was lawful and whether it constituted a crime against humanity.
British Taxpayers Paid Slave Owners, Not Slaves
Critics were quick to point out the hypocrisy in Braverman's argument. Historical records show that when Britain abolished slavery in 1833, the government borrowed £20 million equivalent to about 40 percent of its annual budget at the time to compensate slave owners. The enslaved people themselves received nothing.
Even more shocking is the fact that British taxpayers only finished repaying that loan in 2015, meaning generations of British citizens spent nearly two centuries paying off a debt that compensated the oppressors, not the oppressed.
What This Means for Kenya
For Kenya and other former colonies, Braverman's comments are a reminder that the debate over colonial reparations is far from settled. While Britain has acknowledged some wrongs and paid limited compensation to Mau Mau veterans, many feel that true justice has not yet been achieved.
As Jamaica prepares to take its case directly to the King, other former colonies will be watching closely. The question remains: can former colonial powers ever truly make amends for centuries of exploitation, slavery, and suffering? Or will leaders like Braverman continue to insist that the victims should pay the perpetrators?
0 Comments