
Stuff the British Stole: July 22
In Kenya, Marc Fennell is on the hunt for secret documents that reveal a brutal history of war and a crumbling empire.
- Published by David Knox
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From the bustling streets of Nairobi to a secluded royal retreat in the Kenyan mountains, this week on Stuff the British Stole Marc Fennell is on the hunt for secret documents that reveal a brutal history of war and a crumbling empire.
As the clock ticks towards 1963, Prince Phillip is poised to officially grant Kenya its independence. However, before a new government assumes control, colonial forces receive a final command: eliminate any evidence that could bring shame upon Her Majesty’s government. Amid the global wave of former colonies reclaiming freedom, the twilight of the greatest empire unfolds. The tropical skies witness columns of smoke from countless bonfires, where Britain incinerates its tainted history, discards documents into the sea, and secretly transports crates of files to London in Operation Legacy.
Within these documents lies a shocking secret, so appalling that Britain expends decades and millions to conceal it in a high-security facility, shared with MI5. Marc Fennell takes us on a journey from Nairobi’s bustling streets to the majestic hills of rural Kenya, unraveling the story of the Mau Mau Crisis and those desperate to keep it hidden. The Mau Mau, a violent Kenyan independence movement, faced brutal suppression by Britain through arrests without trial, murder, rape, and detention camps, all deemed legal by Whitehall lawmakers.
As Kenya gains independence, evidence is brazenly whisked away to England, a potential theft of history. From the vibrant hubbub of downtown Nairobi to the serene mist-covered mountains of Nyeri, Kenyans strive to unearth their nation’s erased history. We visit a Mau Mau work camp transformed into a girls’ high school and explore the eerie abandoned hotel where Princess Elizabeth became Queen. Meanwhile, in the tranquil hills of Oxford, a historian turned inadvertent detective guides us through the discovery of a folder marked “Secret,” which eventually unravels the horrifying truth about the dying days of the British Empire.
8pm Monday on ABC.
- Tagged with Stuff The British Stole