-King Charles acknowledged “abhorrent” acts of violence against Kenyans during the colonial period
-He termed the colonial wrongdoings a cause of the greatest sorrow
King Charles, 74, has expressed regrets over the acts of violence committed against Kenyans during the British colonial occupation.
King Charles and Queen Camilla, who are in Kenya for a four-day visit, said they endeavoured to deepen their understanding of the atrocities.
He termed “abhorrent” the violence meted out to the Mau Mau Freedom fighters and other Kenyans during the struggle for independence.
“It is the intimacy of our shared history that has brought our people together. However, we must also acknowledge the most painful times of our long and complex relationship,” the monarch said on Tuesday.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting a Commonwealth nation for the first time since the former’s accession upon the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.
“The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,”he said.
“There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged, as you said at the United Nations, a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty, and for that, there can be no excuse.”
“In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected,”he said.
“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.”
The King speaks at a State Banquet on Day 1 of #RoyalVisitKenya. pic.twitter.com/y96ZaBZ1Um
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 31, 2023
“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,”King Charles said.
King Charles’ speech also underlined the country’s significance to his family.
“It means a great deal to my wife and myself that, in our coronation year, our first state visit to a Commonwealth country should bring us here to Kenya,” he said.
“We both take considerable pride in renewing the ties between the United Kingdom and Kenya, a country that has long held such special meaning for my family.”
Prior to the state visit, some Kenyan groups urged that the King issue an apology on behalf of the monarchy for wrongdoings committed during the colonial era.
The brutal and ruthless British-led suppression of the Mau Mau insurrection in the 1950s.
Tens of thousands of people were killed in the Mau Mau insurrection against British colonial control and internal Kenyan resistance to independence, which was largely spearheaded by the Kikuyu people.
The BBC estimates that 11,000 Mau Mau fighters and others were killed, although unofficial estimates place the death toll significantly higher.
Up to 90,000 Kenyans are thought to have been executed, according to some estimates, while over 150,000 were jailed.
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