video transcript

**No access UK/ABC (Aust), TVNZ/ .co.uk sites (Internet)**~ An early victory for four Kenyans who claim they were tortured by British colonial officials five decades ago. A London judge has allowed the quartet to sue the British government for crimes allegedly committed during Kenya's war for independence. Their lawyer described what they went through during the British rule. SOUNDBITE (English) LAWYER FOR MAU MAU CLAIMANTS MARTYN DAY: "Over 50 years ago, our clients suffered the most terrible torture at the hands of the British colonial regime. Castration, abuse, severe beatings were just some of what they had to endure as the British tried to prevent the advance of the Kenyan independence movement. Our clients have been battling for years to obtain justice for what they endured. Our government has been hell-bent on preventing that happening." The four say they were interred in detention camps between 1952 and 1961. That was when colonial rulers waged a brutal campaign to thwart Kenya's push for independence. But Britain has argued that it is not legally responsible for the violence. That burden, Britain says, was transferred to the Kenyan government when the country became independent in 1963. Andrew Raven, Reuters