BATUK: BRITAIN'S COLONIAL GRIP IN KENYA
BATUK: The White Man’s Burden in Kenya is not just a documentary about a British military base where soldiers roll around in the dirt for six months before returning home to the UK. It is a documentary about abuse of power, occupation of indigenous land and the unfinished business of colonialism.
For decades, ordinary Kenyans living around BATUK have raised allegations of abuse, sexual violence, ecological destruction and impunity, while one of the world’s most powerful former colonial powers continues to operate freely on Kenyan soil, handing out small amounts of compensation whenever evidence of alleged crimes reaches the media.
At the centre of the documentary is the story of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old Kenyan woman who was tortured, killed and dumped in a septic tank, while British soldiers mocked and ridiculed her death on social media. One soldier posed in front of the septic tank and posted, “If you know, you know.” Others joked about the five-month-old daughter she left behind, posting imagery of a baby beside a gravesite.
But the story goes beyond Agnes and her tragic killing and the shocking behaviour of British troops thereafter. The documentary asks deeper questions:
How did Britain maintain a military presence in Kenya, the very same year the country supposedly gained independence?
Why are foreign troops still training on stolen land while local communities continue to suffer?
And above all, why does the Kenyan government allow all of this?
Laikipia County, currently in the spotlight because of plans for an Ebola quarantine facility for US citizens, is the very same county where the BATUK military base is headquartered. This documentary helps connect the dots about why Kenya’s political elite remain so willing to cede sovereignty to foreign powers like Britain, and why they may be willing to do the same again with the United States.
This is Sovereign Media’s first-ever documentary. We are a small, independent team with a brand-new YouTube channel and no corporate backing. We need your support now more than ever.
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@AhmedKaballo@NaamMedia@VoxUmmah@venanalysis@qiaocollective@ProgIntl@KawsachunNews@OrinocoTribune@blkagendareport@SoberaniaPod
Who the next Labour leader will be is inconsequential. Why? Because even though the hopefuls will cynically talk ‘left’, appeal for unity and talk about working class communities, none of them will challenge capital-a necessity to make even the most moderate changes we so desperately need.
@IMIXWHATILIKE@TreyDupree74 And to be clear, I agree that the hashtags ur referring to are disingenuous white nationalist grifters who insist on missing the point of “Black” media in the imperial core. You’re 100% right to call them out. At the same time, its worth discussing the politics behind this 👇🏾
Respectfully…
12 Years a Slave (2013) Solomon Northup played by Chiwetel Ejiofor 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Selma (2014) MLK played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Nina (2016) Nina Simone played by Zoe Saldana 🇩🇴🇵🇷
Race (2016) Jesse Owens played by Stephan James 🇨🇦
Snowfall (2017) Damson Idris 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Harriet (2019) Harriet Tubman played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
One Night in Miami (2020) Malcolm X played by Kingsley Ben-Adir 🇬🇧🇹🇹 + Muhammad Ali played by Eli Goree 🇨🇦
Judas (2021) Fred Hampton played by Daniel Kaluuya 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Genius (2021) Aretha Franklin played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
The Underground Railroad (2021) Thuso Mbedu 🇿🇦, Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱, Sheila Atim 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Lawmen (2023) Bass Reeves played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Genius (2024) Malcolm X played by Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱
When I said respectfully I meant it. I’ve got huge respect for ur work and don’t engage with it flippantly. If u reread above I never claimed/implied ur arguments justify claims against diaspora. I’m a Ugandan raised in 🇬🇧, expressing diaspora solidarity by acknowledging that Hollywood is gaslighting Black America, as usual. I’m saying something strange is happening re casting of legendary Black American figures/events. I’m saying this is a new level of imperialist disruption of panafricanism - using diaspora actors to very publicly and consistently exclude Black🇺🇸 from the telling of their own stories. I maintain that none of this is in contradiction with your own work - narrative warfare via mass communications in service of white supremacy.
@TreyDupree74@IMIXWHATILIKE Agreed on all points. But as Dr Ball regularly argues, we can debate the success of the attempt after digesting the intent. Yh culturally insensitive casting isn’t an existential issue, but framing the frustration as fba delusion is just as reactionary as demonising the diaspora
@PhoenixRay__ I think given the long history of America gaslighting Black Americans about their role in…everything…this persistent culturally insensitive casting is worth questioning. Why can Hollywood find Black Americans to play everyone except their own legends?
As an African raised in Britain I love seeing the diaspora win, but this pattern is weird. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean discrediting/blaming the actors.
It was weird when Forest Whittaker played Idi amin, weird when Will Smith played Dr Bennet Omalu and weird that all these important events in Black American history are portrayed by non-Americans…it’s weird.
Respectfully…
12 Years a Slave (2013) Solomon Northup played by Chiwetel Ejiofor 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Selma (2014) MLK played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Nina (2016) Nina Simone played by Zoe Saldana 🇩🇴🇵🇷
Race (2016) Jesse Owens played by Stephan James 🇨🇦
Snowfall (2017) Damson Idris 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Harriet (2019) Harriet Tubman played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
One Night in Miami (2020) Malcolm X played by Kingsley Ben-Adir 🇬🇧🇹🇹 + Muhammad Ali played by Eli Goree 🇨🇦
Judas (2021) Fred Hampton played by Daniel Kaluuya 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Genius (2021) Aretha Franklin played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
The Underground Railroad (2021) Thuso Mbedu 🇿🇦, Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱, Sheila Atim 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Lawmen (2023) Bass Reeves played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Genius (2024) Malcolm X played by Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱
@IMIXWHATILIKE I understand that you’re pushing back against fba exceptionalism, but when you look at this non-exhaustive list👇🏾it starts to seem more like a psyop
Respectfully…
12 Years a Slave (2013) Solomon Northup played by Chiwetel Ejiofor 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Selma (2014) MLK played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Nina (2016) Nina Simone played by Zoe Saldana 🇩🇴🇵🇷
Race (2016) Jesse Owens played by Stephan James 🇨🇦
Snowfall (2017) Damson Idris 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Harriet (2019) Harriet Tubman played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
One Night in Miami (2020) Malcolm X played by Kingsley Ben-Adir 🇬🇧🇹🇹 + Muhammad Ali played by Eli Goree 🇨🇦
Judas (2021) Fred Hampton played by Daniel Kaluuya 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Genius (2021) Aretha Franklin played by Cynthia Erivo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
The Underground Railroad (2021) Thuso Mbedu 🇿🇦, Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱, Sheila Atim 🇬🇧🇺🇬
Lawmen (2023) Bass Reeves played by David Oyewolo 🇬🇧🇳🇬
Genius (2024) Malcolm X played by Aaron Pierre 🇬🇧🇯🇲🇸🇱
Respectfully Dr Ball, isn’t the issue that Black media representation is antagonistic by design, as you’ve long argued? The uptick in non🇺🇸 actors playing the most significant historical Black American figures over the last 2 decades is hard to ignore. Weren’t all the examples you’ve mentioned antagonistic in the same way?