The court-martial came to order in a British army hut outside Nairobi. The defendant: Captain Gerald Griffiths, 43, a British officer of the Durham Light Infantry charged with "disgraceful conduct" and "cruelty" towards prisoners suspected of being Mau Mau terrorists.
A British lieutenant told how Griffiths made one of his prisoners take off his pants. Then, the witness testified, Griffiths handed his knife to an African private and commanded: "Castrate him." The private, a 16-year-old Somali named Ali Segat, did not obey, so Griffiths changed his order: "Cut off his ear!" With a quick slice, Segat complied
Private Segat testified: "It bled...
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