Reuters Published November 1, 2023
Britain’s King Charles III (R) attends the State Banquet hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto at the State House in Nairobi on October 31, 2023. — AFP
NAIROBI: Britain’s King Charles said on Tuesday he felt the “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” for atrocities suffered by Kenyans during their struggle for independence from colonial rule.
But in a speech at the start of a four-day state visit to Kenya, he stopped short of making a full apology called for by survivors of that period and local rights groups who are pressing for reparations from the British government.
“The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,” Charles said during a state banquet.
“There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged… a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty and for that, there can be no excuse.”
Many citizens of former British colonies, including leaders of Kenya’s Nandi people, want Charles to directly apologise and endorse reparations for colonial-era abuses, including torture, killings and expropriation of land, much of which remains in British hands.
During the 1952-1960 Mau Mau revolt in central Kenya, some 90,000 Kenyans were killed or maimed and 160,000 detained, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has estimated.
Britain has previously expressed regret for those abuses and agreed a 20 million pound settlement in 2013.
President William Ruto praised Charles for his courage and readiness “to shed light on uncomfortable truths that reside in the darker regions of our shared experience”.
“The colonial reaction to African struggles for sovereignty, and self-rule was monstrous in its cruelty,” Ruto said.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023
NAIROBI: Britain’s King Charles said on Tuesday he felt the “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” for atrocities suffered by Kenyans during their struggle for independence from colonial rule.
But in a speech at the start of a four-day state visit to Kenya, he stopped short of making a full apology called for by survivors of that period and local rights groups who are pressing for reparations from the British government.
“The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,” Charles said during a state banquet.
“There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged… a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty and for that, there can be no excuse.”
Many citizens of former British colonies, including leaders of Kenya’s Nandi people, want Charles to directly apologise and endorse reparations for colonial-era abuses, including torture, killings and expropriation of land, much of which remains in British hands.
During the 1952-1960 Mau Mau revolt in central Kenya, some 90,000 Kenyans were killed or maimed and 160,000 detained, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has estimated.
Britain has previously expressed regret for those abuses and agreed a 20 million pound settlement in 2013.
President William Ruto praised Charles for his courage and readiness “to shed light on uncomfortable truths that reside in the darker regions of our shared experience”.
“The colonial reaction to African struggles for sovereignty, and self-rule was monstrous in its cruelty,” Ruto said.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023
King Charles meets Kenya veterans after admitting colonial abuses
Issued on: 01/11/2023
Nairobi (AFP) – King Charles III met Kenyan veterans of World World II on Wednesday, after acknowledging there was "no excuse" for colonial-era abuses during Britain's rule of the East African country.
'Feared retribution'
On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla visited a war cemetery in Nairobi to honour Africans who died for Britain in two world wars, laying a wreath in front of their graves before meeting Kenyan veterans, some in wheelchairs.
"I hope we can do something special for you," Charles told one of the veterans as he handed out medals to the former soldiers, part of a British initiative to belatedly recognise the contribution of non-European forces to the war effort.
Issued on: 01/11/2023
Nairobi (AFP) – King Charles III met Kenyan veterans of World World II on Wednesday, after acknowledging there was "no excuse" for colonial-era abuses during Britain's rule of the East African country.
King Charles and Queen Camilla met Kenyan veterans of World World II, honouring Africans who died for Britain
© Tony KARUMBA / AFP
Charles said he wished to "deepen my own understanding of these wrongs" during his four-day state visit to Kenya with Queen Camilla, but also to bolster "a modern partnership of equals facing today's challenges".
There have been widespread calls for Charles to formally apologise to a country Britain violently ruled for decades before Kenya's hard-fought independence in 1963.
On his first day in Nairobi on Tuesday, the 74-year-old British head of state said the "wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret", but stopped short of an apology.
"There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged... a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse," he told a state banquet.
Charles said he wished to "deepen my own understanding of these wrongs" during his four-day state visit to Kenya with Queen Camilla, but also to bolster "a modern partnership of equals facing today's challenges".
There have been widespread calls for Charles to formally apologise to a country Britain violently ruled for decades before Kenya's hard-fought independence in 1963.
On his first day in Nairobi on Tuesday, the 74-year-old British head of state said the "wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret", but stopped short of an apology.
"There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged... a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse," he told a state banquet.
King Charles said the wrongdoings of the past were 'a cause of the greatest sorrow and deepest regret'
© Chris Jackson / POOL/AFP
"None of this can change the past but by addressing our history with honesty and openness, we can perhaps demonstrate the strength of our friendship today, and in so doing, we can I hope continue to build an ever-closer bond for the years ahead."
Charles has previously made three official visits to Kenya, but this is his first tour of an African and Commonwealth nation since becoming king last year upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
"None of this can change the past but by addressing our history with honesty and openness, we can perhaps demonstrate the strength of our friendship today, and in so doing, we can I hope continue to build an ever-closer bond for the years ahead."
Charles has previously made three official visits to Kenya, but this is his first tour of an African and Commonwealth nation since becoming king last year upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
'Feared retribution'
On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla visited a war cemetery in Nairobi to honour Africans who died for Britain in two world wars, laying a wreath in front of their graves before meeting Kenyan veterans, some in wheelchairs.
"I hope we can do something special for you," Charles told one of the veterans as he handed out medals to the former soldiers, part of a British initiative to belatedly recognise the contribution of non-European forces to the war effort.
King Charles has faced calls in Kenya to apologise for colonial-era abuses
© LUIS TATO / AFP
One veteran, Samweli Mburia, who said he was over 100 years old, told AFP he had originally received a medal during colonial rule but got rid of it because he "feared retribution" from independence fighters.
On Tuesday, Charles and his host President William Ruto laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens, a site steeped in Kenyan history.
One veteran, Samweli Mburia, who said he was over 100 years old, told AFP he had originally received a medal during colonial rule but got rid of it because he "feared retribution" from independence fighters.
On Tuesday, Charles and his host President William Ruto laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens, a site steeped in Kenyan history.
Charles laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens, where Kenya declared independence in 1963
© Tony KARUMBA / AFP
It was there that Kenya's independence was declared at midnight on December 12, 1963, with the national flag replacing the Union flag.
The gardens were built on the site of a camp where British colonial authorities detained suspected Mau Mau guerrillas during the suppression of their 1952-1960 uprising.
'Uncomfortable truths'
The so-called "Emergency" period was one of the bloodiest insurgencies of the British empire and at least 10,000 people -- mainly from the Kikuyu tribe -- were killed, although some put the true figures much higher.
Tens of thousands more were rounded up and detained without trial in camps where reports of executions, torture and vicious beatings were common.
It was there that Kenya's independence was declared at midnight on December 12, 1963, with the national flag replacing the Union flag.
The gardens were built on the site of a camp where British colonial authorities detained suspected Mau Mau guerrillas during the suppression of their 1952-1960 uprising.
'Uncomfortable truths'
The so-called "Emergency" period was one of the bloodiest insurgencies of the British empire and at least 10,000 people -- mainly from the Kikuyu tribe -- were killed, although some put the true figures much higher.
Tens of thousands more were rounded up and detained without trial in camps where reports of executions, torture and vicious beatings were common.
Kenyan President William Ruto called the British response to Kenya's quest for self-determination 'monstrous in its cruelty'
© Luis Tato / AFP
Ruto said the Emergency "intensified the worst excesses of colonial impunity", and called the British response to Kenya's quest for self-determination "monstrous in its cruelty".
But he welcomed Charles' "courage and readiness to shed light on uncomfortable truths".
"Facing the Empire's dark past," was the headline in The Standard newspaper on Wednesday.
The Star said in an editorial that demands for reparations were "unrealistic", adding: "What can King Charles fix today?"
But it did suggest the monarch could help in the return of artefacts including the skull of a revered tribal leader who led a bloody resistance movement against colonial rule more than a century ago.
Kenya is where Queen Elizabeth -- then a princess -- learned in 1952 of the death of her father, King George VI, marking the start of her historic 70-year reign.
The royal programme in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa is also focusing on efforts to tackle climate change, as well as support for creative arts, technology and youth.
© 2023 AFP
Ruto said the Emergency "intensified the worst excesses of colonial impunity", and called the British response to Kenya's quest for self-determination "monstrous in its cruelty".
But he welcomed Charles' "courage and readiness to shed light on uncomfortable truths".
"Facing the Empire's dark past," was the headline in The Standard newspaper on Wednesday.
The Star said in an editorial that demands for reparations were "unrealistic", adding: "What can King Charles fix today?"
But it did suggest the monarch could help in the return of artefacts including the skull of a revered tribal leader who led a bloody resistance movement against colonial rule more than a century ago.
Kenya is where Queen Elizabeth -- then a princess -- learned in 1952 of the death of her father, King George VI, marking the start of her historic 70-year reign.
The royal programme in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa is also focusing on efforts to tackle climate change, as well as support for creative arts, technology and youth.
© 2023 AFP
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