For some people, Africa is the conscience of the world. For others, its a land of milk and honey:
Kenyan women with mixed-race children claim activists encouraged them to lie about British soldiers, reports Adrian Blomfield in Nanyuki
Human rights activists have encouraged Kenyan prostitutes to submit fake rape claims against British soldiers, according to allegations made to The Telegraph. They were allegedly promised a share in any compensation payments.
At least three witnesses claim that representatives of Impact, a Kenyan organisation working with a British lawyer to prepare the lawsuit against the Ministry of Defence, have approached impoverished prostitutes in the town of Nanyuki, in central Kenya, with a tantalising proposal.
Angela Muguri, 24, claims three Impact activists sought her out and promised to make her a millionaire. All she had to do was pretend that British soldiers raped her – and then give them a cut of any forthcoming compensation.
Those ‘human rights activists’ are just concerned, caring people who are fighting for social justice and a better world.
You know, it would be a lot less effort for aid workers in Africa to blast spam North America claiming they had hundreds of thousands of dollars they needed to wire to an American bank, and all they needed was your account number. I’ve received variations on that spam scam for at least two years now. Naturally I’m outraged, but a part of me thinks anyone stupid enough to fall for this deserves what they get. This fake rape story, though, is just nasty.
DNA testing.
That should put a stop to it quick.
Call me Mr. Cynical, but I’ve been expecting to hear something like this ever since the news of these charges surfaced.
One thought that was provoked in me by this case was the question of the appropriate level of compensation. Assume a Kenyan woman who really has been proven to have been raped by a British soldier. What would the appropriate level of compensation be?
Should we base the compensation on the level that would be given to a British woman or a German or Cypriot in similar circumstances? This could make the Kenyan rich beyond her neighbours’ dreams of avarice, by local relative standards. This would seem to unfairly overcompensate her: we wouldn’t want the path to riches in Kenya to be raped by a Briton, quite apart from the consequential prospect of subsequent fraudulent claims.
Or should we base it on the level of wealth locally, perhaps giving her enough to live on for N years at the living standards that she might have expected had she worked locally as a teacher, doctor etc. This would be a derisory amount by Western standards, and could be said to be devaluing her suffering merely because she and her neighbours are poor. In principle, this could be extended to a “means-test” for compensation that could be applied within Britain as well as internationally, hardly an attractive notion.
To me this sounds like a case of the devil and the deep blue sea. What does everyone else here think?
Frankly, I couldn’t care less as they weren’t raped and it’s therefore moot. I do think the accusers should be arrested and tried, though. Lying about rape is a sickening and damaging thing and must be harshly discouraged. The aid workers who were literally aiding and abetting should also be sent for trial.
Couple of thoughts,
The fuinal paragraph of the article is telling,
“There are disgruntled women who feel annoyed because their causes have not been taken up, or because soldiers have been confined to barracks and are not spending money in the town”, which might explain some of the problem, and secondly DNA tests would be pretty irrelavent in most cases. If the relationship had been consensual then there would be the DNA but no rape. There again it might shame some of the shysters into providing for their progeny.
“Those ‘human rights activists’ are just concerned, caring people who are fighting for social justice and a better world.”
The implied smear on activists in general is misdirected. They weren’t human rights activists, just con men looking for a quick buck. It’s like finding one or two corrupt businessman & saying “ah well, business, it’s a crooks’ game”, as people at the other end of the political spectrum from you guys do. You may feel human rights activists as a whole are not useful, but don’t imply they’re on a par with these confidence tricksters.
(if there was no implied smear/sneer, then hey, no problem!)
I’m not sure a sneer at “human rights activists” is unjustified.
In my experience, such people are often politically correct leftists looking for any chance to smear men, Anglo-Saxons, or the military, with little regard for facts.
Faking up rape accusations would not be inconsistent with these general goals of the species.
Gawain, they’re choosing prostitutes w/mixed race children, hence my DNA comment.
–Kenyan women with mixed-race children claim activists encouraged them to lie about British soldiers, reports Adrian Blomfield in Nanyuki–
DNA if they have children can fix this.
David Carr writes:
“Those ‘human rights activists’ are just concerned, caring people who are fighting for social justice and a better world.”
A-t is right – it’s not quite as simple as that. In fact, the problem with most human rights activists is that — precisely because of their genuine concern with the fate of the disadvantaged — they promote asylum-friendly and refugee-friendly policies which, if implemented, would turn the West into a menagerie. Our road to hell may be paved with the good intentions of such idealists.
Consult, for example, the first-rate website of Human Rights Watch at:
http://www.hrw.org/
The problem with the human rights activists is not that they are cynics — the problem is that they are not cynics.
As to the Kenyan women’s rape claims, one reason the whole business is probably a scam is that sex is so cheap in Africa (if you have a European-style income) as to make rape just not worth the effort. Why go to the hassle of violating a woman when you can have sex with a good time girl for next to nothing? Even rapists aren’t so dumb that they can’t work that one out.
A postscript or, rather, a sideline:
If you’re seeking a brilliant essay on Africa as basket case, try Kim du Toit’s:
http://www.kimdutoit.com/dr/essays/essays.php?id=P82
Fuck it!!! I dont think a good-looking brittish soldier would be able to rape me, i would spread my legs faster than you can say hooker, in anycase i think i would do the raping…yummy!
Human leftist rights activists suck! just like everything else that is leftist!!!
Well since the tone has already been lowered, I might as well tell the very lame, very old, very non PC joke of which this story reminds me. What did the hooker say to the bank teller when she found out the check was no good? “Good lord, I’ve been raped!”
Amelia-
Bwaaaahahahahha!
since the allegations cover a period of many years, it is possible that some cases are genuine, and others false…why does everyone seem to think it has to be 100% one way or the other? Also if the British army had a better record of controlling its soldiers in, say Germany (many towns ban soldiers from their centres) or Cyprus (3 soldiers convicted of horrific rape and murder of Danish tour guide a few years ago) then the allegations would have less credibility…
I hope it’ll be availabel
Mrs: because 90 percent of the time it is one way of the other. And the innocent ones still have their lives ruined. Common law is based wholly on the notion that it is more important to NOT bring the law down on even the guilty at the cost of the innocent. However, where relations between women and men are concerned, this doesn’t seem to fly.
Joe in DC… think again. Most rape cases end without a conviction. I’d hazard a guess that far, far more rapist scumbags get away with it than men have their ‘lives ruined’. Also, which is more life-ruining, being falsely accused of rape, or being raped? seems fairly simple, dunnit?
A_t,
I would to also hazard a guess that nearer 50% of cases are either exaggerated or based on false accusations. I’d would sincerely like to know why you think that most rape cases are genuine?
Being falsely accused of rape can easily cause the loss of your job, friends and family (all without a conviction). I can’t see how being raped is *obviously* a more harrowing experience.
Paul P… put it this way, if you had to choose one experience, which would you choose?
Personally, i’d go for the accusation any day.
As for the “50% of rape claims are false” idea, I very much doubt it; “it’s very hard to prove rape” sounds much more plausible in my book.
Mixed-race children born, as they apparently have been, to Kenyan prostitutes call into question the British Army’s duty of care. Aids and other STD’s have been a longstanding concern – certainly long enough to have drilled into the thickest recruit the absolute necessity to experience Mombasa by night only with the appropriate, expansive defences. Yes, boys will be boys and they are a long way from Tracy in Aldershot but, really, coffee-coloured progeny should there be none.
A_t, just because something “sounds more plausibe” “in your book” does not make it true. Here are some statistics and sources on false rape accusations:
41% false accusation rate – Eugene J. Kanin, Ph.D.
27% false accusation rate – Charles P. McDowell, Ph.D.
72% false accusation rate – Ontario Incidence Study (OIS)
25% false accusation rate – DNA evidence used to establish innocence
Men’s lives are ruined by false accusations. Why are you so callous?
Sandy,
The point is that the DNA evidence is exactly the same whether the women were raped or were paid for the services. The tests prove paternity, not whether the sex was consentual.