(CNN) -- Decades after the end of colonial rule, thousands of elderly Kenyans are getting compensation and an apology from Britain for years of torture during the fight for independence. Britain announced a Â£19.9 million ($30 million) settlement Thursday for human rights violations during its colonial rule in the East African nation. "The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and that they marred Kenya's progress towards independence," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. The victims had accused the former colonial master of a series of human rights violations, including rape, illegal detentions and castration. "The elderly victims of torture now at last have the recognition and justice they have sought for many years,"said Martyn Day of Leigh Day, the law firm that represented the plaintiffs. "For them, this significance of this moment cannot be overemphasized."
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The abuse occurred from 1952 to 1961
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Fighters from the Mau Mau movement battled British forces for land and freedom
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Colonial forces killed thousands of fighters and detained others
The Mau Mau veterans' claims, issued in 2009, faced resistance from @placeholder, which said the statute of limitations had expired.