§ 3.35 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF PERTHMy Lords, with your Lordships' permission perhaps I might interrupt the debate and read the promised statement on Kenya and the revocation of the Emergency Regulations there. A similar statement has been made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies in another place.
It is just over seven years since the Governor was compelled to assume emergency powers in Kenya. With the improvement of the situation in recent years, it has been possible to abandon some controls and to apply others less widely. But the major emergency powers have nearly all had to be retained. The Governor has to-day announced, with the authority of Her Majesty's Government, that as soon as the necessary Bills can be passed to maintain the few special measures to which I shall refer, and provided that there is no deterioration in the situation, the operation of Part II of the Emergency Powers Orders in Council will be terminated and all the remaining Emergency Regulations will be revoked.
Of the emergency powers assumed seven years ago the more stringent is that to detain persons without trial. Those who have studied the Report of the Fairn Committee will know the Committee felt that the Kenya Government was right in its policy of keeping under control those who are irreconcilably attached to Mau Mau. It follows that a remnant of those at present held will have to be kept in restraint for some time to come. The Kenya Government is therefore introducing into the Legislative Council a Special Bill which will enable the social and psychological task of reintegrating these men into the community to be pursued, while at the same time maintaining the necessary controls over those who still remain unreconciled and unacceptable to their own people. The Bill will be restricted to persons now under control and to listed fugitives still at large. Otherwise, the Governor will relinquish his present emergency powers of detention and restriction.
Among other powers which will lapse are those to proscribe local publications, to license printing presses, to control 481 Kikuyu movement by passbooks, to impose emergency communal labour, and to require the Kikuyu to live in the villages. This new policy clearly involves risks against which it is only prudent to insure. The Kenya Government has accordingly published a Bill under which the Governor may, after giving due public notice, take such measures for the preservation of public security as appear to be strictly required by the exigencies of the situation. This Bill seeks to meet the problem, to which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies referred in another place last week, of putting reasonable and flexible powers in the hands of a Governor to deal with abnormal conditions threatening security which do not justify the use of the sledge-hammer of the Emergency Powers Order in Council. My right honourable friend is glad that the Governor feels that present circumstances require the use of this new Ordinance to continue only two special security measures when the Emergency Regulations lapse: to maintain a stricter control than exists in permanent law over public meetings, and over the registration of political associations. Special security powers may from time to time be unavoidable; but the first defence of any society against threats to good order and government must be adequate provision and resolute enforcement of the ordinary criminal law.
The Governor has to-day also announced his intention, by the exercise of his prerogative powers, to release from imprisonment during the next six weeks all those, numbering about 2,500 people, who have committed offences connected with the Emergency on both sides. About 120 of these are deeply imbued with Mau Mau, including 16 convicted murderers, and they will be detained but will become eligible for rehabilitation and in due course for release. Six are loyalist Africans or Government servants who have committed serious offences upon Mau Mau sympathisers in detention camps or elsewhere. In addition to this, the Governor expects that by the end of the year about 500 of those at present detained or restricted will be released through the reviews recommended by the Fairn Committee. I understand that the Attorney-General of Kenya has decided, in view of the 482 Governor's action, to institute no further proceedings in respect of offences connected with the Emergency committed before to-day.
The aim of these measures is to bring to a close the unhappy chapter of the past seven years, and to encourage the whole Kenya nation to turn together to the constructive tasks of the future.
§ 3.41 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I am quite sure that in all parts of the House your Lordships will welcome, in general, the statement made by the Secretary of State in another place and repeated to us in this House to-day. We should all join in the last few words the noble Earl has uttered, and hope that the steps that are being taken will bring to a close the unhappy chapter of the past seven years. There have been great criticisms from time to time as to why it has been necessary to maintain such a state of emergency for so long. Undoubtedly there have been very serious difficulties to contend with, and some of the incidents which have happened have been the subject of great criticism in this country.
I should like to ask just one or two questions about details of the statement. First, I would refer to the special Bill which is to be introduced into the Legislative Council to give certain powers for continuing the treatment of those who are kept in internment and trying to get them ready for reintegration into the general society of the State there. Of course that Bill will be based, we take it, upon the recommendations of the Fairn Committee. But what I should like to ask is this: is the noble Earl aware yet whether that Bill will contain regulations that will make quite sure that the offences which undoubtedly were committed against the prisoners in Hola Camp will not be likely to be repeated? Is there to be a set of provisions in the Bill which will set down specific regulations to be followed by those who are employed in the work of these particular institutions?
The next question there that I would ask is this. Is there anything that does not quite appear on the surface, after the disappearance of the present state 483 of emergency, when a new Bill is introduced into the Kenya Legislature which is to give specific powers, under a local legislative Bill, to the Governor in order that he may take suitable action in the case of some sudden incident or emergency which has to be met? Is there to be a different procedure from that which has hitherto been followed by a Governor of the Crown in any overseas territory of this kind? And will it in any sense give him a permanent power which he will operate at any time without consultation with the Secretary of State here? That is rather an important point. If so, will he be then free from criticism of his action by the Secretary of State? And if the procedure is to be so segregated from the usual procedure, will that be removed from the possibility of ordinary criticism in the British Parliament? We have had so much reaction in this country against some of the things that have happened overseas in the last few years that I feel it is rather fundamental that we should understand clearly what the Government have in mind at the present time as to the powers of the Governor, what is the authority, and how that authority will be treated in the future. I hope it may be possible for the noble Earl to give me some information on these points.
§ 3.45 p.m.
LORD REAMy Lords, it is sometimes rather difficult, when one rises from the Liberal Benches to answer a Minister of the Crown who has given all the points in favour of a matter, when the noble Viscount who leads for the Opposition has stolen all the points against it, and to make a selective choice of something that would be of use to the House. In the present instance I would say that this statement which the noble Earl has made rejoices the hearts of all of us on these Benches. If I may say so, quite humbly, we hope that the very liberal attitude taken in this matter will be borne in mind when the Government are dealing with other places in the Commonwealth. It is sometimes claimed by both the major Parties that the mantle of Liberalism has fallen upon them—both of them, I gather—but it does not always cover them completely, and there are sometimes cases of almost indecent exposure. In this case I would say the mantle has 484 fallen very well on the shoulders of the Government, and I would express my pleasure that the noble Earl, with such liberal antecedents, has probably had something to do with this matter.
§ 3.47 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF PERTHMy Lords, I am sure we are very glad to have that reception for the statement I have made on the relaxation of the Emergency Regulations; and I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Rea, for what he has said, although I do not think that I personally should take any credit for what has been announced. On the two points raised by the noble Viscount, I am not clear that it would be necessary to have any special Bill, or any special provision in the Bill, about the treatment of prisoners and so forth as recommended by the Fairn Committee. My reason for saying that is that the Kenya Government have already considered the Report of the Fairn Committee, and have adopted and accepted the various recommendations made by the Committee, and are already following them out as a matter of practice. So, whether it is necessary to do anything more in the way of giving them effect in the Bill, I do not know. What I think is important arising from the noble Viscount's question is that what is recommended by the Fairn Committee is being carried out; whether it be done ad hoc or by the Bill I do not think matters as much.
On the second question raised I would say this. Of course one remembers that Part I of the Emergency Regulations remains, which always allows Part II—though I hope this will not happen—to be invoked as an enabling power a second time; but in the meanwhile it is hoped that the "sledge-hammer" would not be necessary. As was said in the statement, there will be two special security measures passed by legislation. One of those will be to maintain a stricter control than exists in permanent law over public meetings, and the other over registration of political associations; and that is all. Those are the only two immediate powers, outside the normal ones, which the Governor is proposing to take, apart of course from the one I mentioned about detention, which I elaborated on at some length in the statement. I am quite certain it always has been and always will be open to this 485 House, or the other House, to ask questions about what is happening in the colonial territories. Nothing, I am sure, will detract from that.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, will the text of those two important Bills be made available to Members of the House?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHMy Lords, I will certainly find out whether that is possible. Of course they are Kenya Bills—
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEOf course.
§ THE EARL OF PERTH—but for your Lordships' convenience, I am sure that we can arrange to have them laid or in some way made available to your Lordships.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Earl for his answer and I shall read it carefully, so that I can fully understand it. But I want to point out that the statement says:
This Bill seeks to meet the problem, to which my right honourable friend … referred in another place last week, of putting reasonable and flexible powers in the hands of a Governor to deal with abnormal conditions threatening security which do not justify the use of the sledge-hammer of the Emergency Powers Order in Council.But surely such a wide phrase as "reasonable and flexible powers" is not confined to these two specific instances which he has just mentioned?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHThat is quite true; those powers are not so confined, but the present purpose of them is that they should be confined to these two points. But, clearly, if something else happens then it will be made known, and the opportunity to use them further will arise.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHI still want to know whether, in such circumstances, the Governor is likely to consult the Secretary of State before he does it.
§ THE EARL OF PERTHI have no doubt that he will be telling the Secretary 486 of State what he has in mind in those circumstances.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, whilst welcoming the statement and the very happy situation that appears from it, may I ask the noble Earl what is the position, under this statement, of the leaders of the Kikuyu, such as Jomo Kenyatta? Will they be released? May I ask, secondly, whether, under the statement, it is now the position that no African in Kenya will be obliged to carry a pass?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHIf I may deal with the second part first, that is my understanding. In regard to Jomo Kenyatta and certain others of the Kikuyu leaders, the answer there is that they are not covered by the Emergency Regulations. They were tried by a number of different processes other than the Emergency Regulations. Kenyatta was tried and convicted, and has served his term of imprisonment. Then, following the recommendations of the Court, he was restricted; and that restriction will remain.
§ LORD OGMOREWould it not be an important accessory to the situation created under this statement that a leader such as Jomo Kenyatta, and the others with him, should be released? Is it going to be possible to do what the Government wants without releasing these men?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHThat remains to be seen; but at the present time there is no doubt that Kenyatta and the others with him will remain under restriction—and I think that that is necessary for the peace and good order of the Colony.
LORD FARINGDONMy Lords, I wonder whether the noble Earl could give us any idea of the way in which the orders dealing with public meetings and the registration of political associations will differ from the ordinary powers that exist in any case under the law?
§ THE EARL OF PERTHI think not at the moment but the noble Viscount has asked that when these Bills are published we should see them, and I think that that will be the time to look into the matter further.