2023-10-29 14:21:44
Charles III must present an “unequivocal public apology” for human rights violations committed during Kenya’s colonial period (1895-1963), the Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) urged on Sunday. days of a state visit by the king to the East African country.
Sovereign Charles III and his wife Camilla are expected in Kenya from October 31 to November 3, his first state visit as king to a Commonwealth country.
The history between the two countries was notably marked by the repression of the Mau Mau revolt once morest the British colonial power, which left more than 10,000 dead between 1952 and 1960, mainly within the Kikuyu community, one of the bloodiest repressions of the British Empire.
After years of litigation, London agreed in 2013 to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans, but some are waiting for the king to issue a formal apology for Britain’s past actions.
“We call on the King, on behalf of the British government, to present an unconditional and unequivocal public apology (…) for the brutal and inhumane treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens throughout the colonial period”, between 1895 and 1963, called of his wishes to the KHRC, an independent human rights group.
The KHRC also demanded reparations “for all atrocities committed once morest the different groups in the country”, mentioning, in addition to the repression of the Mau Mau, land grabbing.
This visit will be an opportunity to discuss “the most painful aspects” of the history between the two countries and Charles III “will take the time (…) to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered during this period by the people Kenyan,” assured Buckingham Palace ahead of his visit.
The Kenyan Human Rights Commission also called on Kenyan President William Ruto to give “priority (to these demands) during his meetings with the king”.
The royal couple will be welcomed by President Ruto in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday. For two days, he must meet entrepreneurs, young people, participate in a state banquet, visit a new museum dedicated to the history of Kenya and lay a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in the Uhuru gardens , in the center of the capital.
Charles and Camilla are then due to travel to the port city of Mombasa (south), where the king, attached to environmental issues, will visit a nature reserve and meet representatives of various religions.
Kenya is particularly linked to the history of the royal family: it is there that in 1952, Elizabeth II learned of the death of her father, King George VI, making her the new sovereign of the United Kingdom.
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