FIVE
FAMOUS AFRICANS ONCE ARRESTED AND/OR TORTURED
BY THE BRITISH
The last thing one would expect from a former British colony
is the natives praising their former masters. In fact even today, most former
colonies still resent the British for the atrocities they committed against
them in the past century. Just recently, a British court awarded compensation
to former MauMau members (Kenya) for torture and other inhuman treatments
against them.
Here are 5 of famous Africans once arrested and/or horribly
tortured by the British or their agents
in the past and recent times
1.NELSON MANDELA
The charismatic anti-apartheid leader is hailed world over
for leading reconciliation for South Africans and becoming the first black
president of the country. Mandela spent an astounding 27 years in the Robben
island prison which was at that time used to hold political dissidents.
During this time Mandela was subjected to bad conditions
scorn and mental torture. A lung condition that actually persisted to his death
was as a result of the poor conditions of the Robben islands.
This he documents well in his biography “A long walk to Freedom”
2.JOMO KENYATTA
Jomo Kenyatta was the first prime Minister and president of
independent Kenya. Prior to that however the road had not been as smooth.
Kenyatta was first arrested in the early 50s together with 5 others famously
known as the Kapenguria six.
Kenyatta and the six were taken to detention to Lodwar where
beatings and torture were pertetrated to them to force guilty confessions. This
however did not last long since almost spontaneously the MauMau rebellion broke
out.
3.STEVE BIKO
Another South African nationalist anti-apartheid activist, a
once promising Steve Biko career was cut short by the same people who were
claiming to restore sanity in one savage a people. During a protest, Biko in
South Africa, Biko was arrested, tortured and killed by Britsh and Apartheid
police effectively placing him in the ranks of a martyr for the course
4. MUAMARR GADDAFFI
In the September of 2011, war was raging in Libya during the
Arab spring. Gadhafi was running from hideout to hideout and the rebels were
gaining hold in his hometown. During this time David Cameron the British prime
minister travelled to Libya to congratulate the rebels.
By the end of the month Gadhafi had been captured,. The
rebels, technically agents of the British and American course tortured and
Killed Gaddafi even before he could stand trial for his crimes. This alone has
led some pro Gaddafi groups to term him as again a martyr of the
anti-neocolonialism course.
5. KWAME NKRUMMAH
A famous pan Africanist and Ghanaian nationalist, it is easy
to guess that his role landed him in conflict with the British. After the
formation of UGCC Nkrumah and other
nationalists were arrested and briefly detained numerously, on claim that they
were inciting Cocoa farmers against the government. This was despite the fact
that Nkrumah favored non-violent methods in the quest for independence.
Despite the humiliation, Ghana finally achieved independence
in 1957, one of the first countries in black Africa to gain independence.
It is worth noting that this is only a short list. The list
is quite large and these are only some of the most famous men to suffer
humiliation in the hands of the British in Africa
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