For Charles III, “there can be no excuse” for colonial abuses in Kenya

“ Heinous and unjustifiable acts of violence were committed against Kenyans as they waged (…) a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that there can be no excuse.”said the British sovereign during a state dinner on Tuesday with Kenyan President William Ruto.

“None of this can change the past, but by approaching our history with honesty and openness, perhaps we can demonstrate the strength of our friendship today and, in doing so, we can hopefully continue to build an ever closer bond for the years to come,” he added.

For his part, Mr. Ruto said that the reaction of the colonial power to the self-determination movements in Kenya had been “of monstrous cruelty”, to the “worst excesses of colonial impunity”.

“Uncomfortable truths”

“Courage and Will” by Charless “to shed light on uncomfortable truths” constitute a first step towards “progress going beyond the timid and equivocal half-measures of recent years”.

Charles III had previously symbolically visited the site of the proclamation of Kenya’s independence, on the first day of his visit to this East African country, where demands for apologies multiplied.

This four-day visit, a few weeks before the 60th anniversary of the independence of this former colony, is Charles III’s first as king to a Commonwealth country.

This trip of Charles, 74 years old, and Queen Camilla, 76 years old, underlines “the strong and dynamic partnership between the United Kingdom and Kenya”, the British embassy said. But Buckingham also said it would be an opportunity to discuss “the most painful aspects of common history” of the two countries.

One of the deadliest episodes was the Mau Mau revolt, the repression of which by the British colonial power left more than 10,000 dead between 1952 and 1960. Thirty-two colonists were also killed.

Many Kenyan veterans’ and human rights organizations expected more from the British authorities, who have so far simply expressed concerns in 2013. “sincere regrets” for colonial violence in Kenya.

The NGO Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) on Sunday called on the king to “to present an unconditional and unequivocal public apology” for the atrocities committed “during the entire colonial period” (1895-1963). KHRC also sought relief.

In 2013, after years of proceedings, London agreed to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans victims of abuse during the Mau Mau uprising. After deducting legal costs, each received around 2,600 pounds (3,000 euros).

“Historical links”

Without raising this issue, William Ruto stressed “the historical links between Kenya and the United Kingdom” and the “steady progress in trade and investment”in a message on “X”.

Trade between the two countries represented approximately 1.2 billion pounds (1.375 billion euros) annually at the end of March 2023.

The royal couple is to stay for two days in Nairobi with meetings with entrepreneurs, young people, a visit to a forest and an elephant orphanage…

He will then travel to the port city of Mombasa (south), where Charles, attached to environmental issues, will notably visit a nature reserve and meet religious representatives.

He will not go to Nanyuki, the town where the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) is based, at the heart of recurring controversies, between accusations of rape, murder and the presence of unexploded ordnance which mutilates the local populations.

After visits to Germany then to France, marking a desire for rapprochement with its European allies, this trip marks a royal orientation towards the Commonwealth.

The sovereign begins in Kenya a “mission to save the Commonwealth”estimated the British daily Daily Mail.

This vestige of the British empire which brings together 56 countries, most of them former British colonies, is weakened by increasingly strong criticism of the United Kingdom’s colonial past.

Previous visits by royals to former colonies have caused a stir.