Rua Kenana Bill putting things right for Maungapōhatu uri

Parliament's Māori affairs committee has called for submissions on a bill pardoning Rua Kenana.

The Tūhoe prophet was arrested in 1916 in an invasion by armed police of his community at Maungapōhatu in the centre of Te Urewera, driven by government concern about his opposition to Tūhoe men enlisting for military service.

His son and another man were killed in the raid and he spent almost two years in prison for resisting arrest.

Committee chair Rino Tirikatene says the Bill is about putting things right and restoring the mana and reputation of Rua and his descendants.

"It's wonderful for the whānau of Maungapōhatu especially because such was the impact of the imprisonment of Rua and the invasion that took place and the loss of life, they never recovered, so this Bill is an important plank to restore and rebuild the legacy of Rua and also the whānau of Maungapōhatu as well," he says.

Submissions on the Rua Kenana Pardon Bill close on October 30.

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