Africans who fought for British army paid less than white soldiers

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“The colonial regime placed a different value on African life than it did on European life,” said Prof Timothy Parsons, one of the world’s leading authorities on Britain’ s east African army, who is calling on the government to redress the injustices exacted on these soldiers by British rule.

“There may be an opportunity to right some wrongs. It wouldn’t cost a great deal of money per individual.”

Once a soldier was demobilized, Britain paid him a lump sum known as a war gratuity, calibrating the exact amount to the racial hierarchy enshrined in its African empire.