Ian Stuart McWalter Henderson, also known as Ian Stewart McWalter Henderson, (1927 – 13 April 2013) was a British citizen known for his role in resolving the Mau Mau crisis in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in the late 1950s and for managing the Bahraini General Directorate for State Security Investigations from 1966 to 1998. Henderson was dubbed the Butcher of Bahrain due to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

and the numerous human rights violations that were alleged to have taken place under his command there, especially during

1990s uprising in Bahrain The 1990s uprising in Bahrain ( ar, الانتفاضة التسعينية في البحرين) also known as the uprising of dignity ( ar, انتفاضة الكرامة) was an uprising in Bahrain between 1994 and 1999 in which leftists, libera ...

. Henderson was born in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in 1927 but grew up among the

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: *Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Centr ...

in Kenya and lived most of his life overseas. He served as a Colonial Police Officer in Kenya during the 1950s and was famed for his role in capturing Mau Mau rebel leader

Dedan Kimathi Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957), born ''Kimathi wa Waciuri'' in what was then British Kenya, was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led th ...

, about which he wrote the book, ''The Hunt for Kimathi'', also published under the title ''Man Hunt in Kenya'' by Doubleday. In 1954 Henderson was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

, the second-highest award for bravery not in combat, and later a bar to the George Medal, for suppressing the

Mau Mau uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...

. "Ian Henderson has probably done more than any single individual to bring the Emergency to an end", wrote General Sir Gerald Lathbury when he left Kenya in 1957. After

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

, he was deported from Kenya and moved to

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

. He was employed as the head of the General Directorate for State Security Investigations in Bahrain for some 30 years, retiring from his position in February 1998. He was accused of complicity in

during the period of protracted social unrest of

, leading to an investigation by British authorities in 2000. The investigation was concluded in August 2001 and no charges were filed, despite thorough documentation by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

of the torture. He always denied any involvement in

, despite the release of the documentary "Blind Eye to the Butcher" which contains evidence and interviews with the disfigured torture victims who identify Ian Henderson. While chief of the Bahrain police, Ian Henderson personally interviewed

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n agent Kim Hyon-hui and her accomplice Kim Seung-il. The pair had travelled to Bahrain posing as Japanese tourists after planting a bomb on Korean Air Flight 858. Henderson managed to prevent Hyon-hui from taking a

cyanide pill A suicide pill (also known as the cyanide pill, kill-pill, lethal pill, death-pill, or L-pill) is a pill, capsule, ampoule, or tablet containing a fatally poisonous substance that a person ingests deliberately in order to achieve death quickly t ...

secreted in a cigarette she was carrying.

Honours

Ian Henderson was honoured by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

with the OBE (1984),

(1954) (and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

(1955)) and the

King's Police and Fire Services Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

(1953). He was honoured by Government of Bahrain with The Order of Shaikh 'Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa (''Wisam al-Shaikh 'Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa'') Exceptional Class (2000), The Order of Bahrain (''Wisam al-Bahrein'') 1st Class (1983) and The Medal of Military Merit (''Wissam al-Khidmat al-Askari'') 1st Class (1982). Ian Henderson's character was played by

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

in the 1990 Korean film '' Mayumi'', portraying his interrogation of Kim Hyon-hui.

Death

Ian Henderson died on 13 April 2013 at the age of 86.

Footnotes

External links

Obituary: Ian Henderson
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' (29 May 2013)
Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria
''Spink'' (21 July 2011), pp. 8–10 {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Ian 1927 births 2013 deaths British colonial police officers People from Aberdeenshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the George Medal Colonial recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal British expatriates in Kenya British people of the Mau Mau Uprising