obama,s frand fathers was being tortures in united kingdom

Former Mau Mau rebels say they were tortured by British forces during Kenya's fight for independence  [GALLO/GETTY] It's a case involving allegations of torture, long-hidden government records, and a successful anti-colonial struggle. Four Kenyans, including two who say they were castrated, sexually abused and severely beaten in a British-run prison camp during the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s and 1960s, have launched a lawsuit against the UK government. Legal proceedings begin in London on Thursday. "I don't think many people are aware of the idea that the British government was involved in the systematic torture and abuse of people fighting for their freedom," said Martyn Day, a senior partner at Leigh Day & Co, the The Foreign Office says it understands the strong feelings the Mau Mau issue still evokes and that the period caused a great deal of pain for many on all sides. However, it says the UK intends to fully defend the cases, arguing that the government cannot be held liable. Archive searches connected with the case have led to the discovery of thousands of files from former British administrations, including Kenya, which the Foreign Office is to make public. The armed movement began in central Kenya during the 1950s with the aim of getting back land seized by British colonial authorities. "The experience of these claimants was not unique," said Anderson, who has written several books about Kenya. "I would go as far to say that torture was systemic, it was part of a system of detention and abuse, organised in a pragmatic way." Lawyers for the UK government will argue the case should be thrown out of court because the events in question happened decades ago and are difficult to prove today. "That [time delay] will be in big issue heard by the court in the next few days," said Day, the plaintiff’s lawyer. "They [lawyers for the government] also say we are suing the wrong people; they say we should be suing the Kenyan government," Day told Al Jazeera. The grandfather of Barack Obama, the US president, is among those who were detained and abused, the UK Guardian newspaper reported.