Abstract:
Background: A decade before Kenya’s independence in 1963 thousands of ‘Mau Mau’ fighters were
arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps where many underwent torture and inhuman
treatment. No studies have been done to establish the presence of post traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) and other psychiatric morbidity among the survivors of those concentration camps.
Objectives: To establish the prevalence of PTSD and other psychiatric morbidity and associated
factors among the Mau Mau Concentration Camp survivors.
Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study of all consecutive concentration camp survivors included
in the study.
Setting: Mau Mau War Veterans’ Association (MMWVA) headquarters at Mwea House, Nairobi,
Kenya Human Rights Commission headquarters in Nairobi, Tumaini House (Venue of MMWVA
elections, 2005) and the MMWVA branch office in Kajiado District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya.
Subjects: One hundred and eighty one Mau Mau Concentration Camp Survivors who gave consent
to participate in the study.
Main outcome measures: Lifetime and Current PTSD, IES-R score and other Psychiatric Morbidity
as measured using the SCID and the IES-R.
Results: A DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of current PTSD was made in 65.7% of the survivors. Current
PTSD was associated with higher IES-R scores and older age, lower income, non-Catholic religion,
larger household size, older age at incarceration, greater length of incarceration, incarceration in
two or more camps, experiencing other traumatic events, family history of mental illness and having
other psychiatric illness.
Conclusions: Similar to other former Prisoners of War (POWs) elsewhere, these survivors suffer
high PTSD prevalence rates and a special veterans’ service is recommended to address this problem
and its associated factors among these and other veterans in Kenya
