Background
Ian Henderson was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1927 but lived most of his life overseas.
Ian Henderson was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1927 but lived most of his life overseas.
Henderson was dubbed the Butcher of Bahrain due to the numerous human rights violations that were alleged to have taken place under his command there. 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, which he wrote a book on, with the title "The Hunt for Kimathi", also published under the title "Manitoba Hunt in Kenya" by Doubleday. "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, he was deported from Kenya and moved to Bahrain.
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 torture during the period of protracted social unrest that Bahrain experienced in the mid to late 1990s, leading to an investigation by British authorities in 2000.
The investigation was concluded in August 2001 and no charges were filed. He always denied any involvement in torture.
Ian Henderson was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1984), George Medal (1954) (and Bar (1955)) and the King"s Police and Fire Services Medal (1953).
Ian Henderson died on 13 April 2013 at the age of 86.