Kenya: King Charles Expresses “Greatest Sorrow” For Misdeeds Under British Rule

In response to the horrors Kenyans endured throughout their fight for independence from British colonial control, King Charles expressed his “deepest regret” and “greatest sorrow” on Tuesday.

He did not, however, fully apologise as demanded by survivors of that era and local rights organisations that are pushing for restitution from the British government, during an address at the beginning of a four-day official visit to Kenya.

“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,” he added.

Leaders of Kenya’s Nandi people are among the many former British colonists who want Charles to personally apologise and support compensation for the atrocities committed during the colonial era, which included deaths, torture, and the confiscation of property, most of which is still owned by the British.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has estimated that during the 1952–1960 Mau Mau insurrection in central Kenya, around 90,000 Kenyans were murdered or injured and 160,000 were incarcerated.

In 2013, Britain agreed to pay a compensation of 20 million pounds ($24 million), expressing sorrow for the violations.

Charles’ bravery and willingness “to shed light on uncomfortable truths that reside in the darker regions of our shared experience” were commended by President William Ruto. Charles stated that he hoped to meet some of the impacted people and broaden his awareness of the wrongs on his journey.

“The colonial reaction to African struggles for sovereignty, and self-rule was monstrous in its cruelty,” Ruto said. He added, “While there have been efforts to atone for the death, injury, and suffering inflicted on Africans by colonial government, much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations.”

At the Commonwealth meeting last year, a voluntary union of nations that sprang from the British Empire, Charles, still the heir apparent, shocked many by admitting slavery’s role in the organisation’s roots.

Mwangi Macharia, the leader of the human rights organisation African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action, stated that Britain ought to emulate Germany, which has expressed regret for its misdeeds in Namibia and committed to funding initiatives valued at more than one billion euros.

The Nandi King, Koitalel Arap Samoei, led an insurrection for ten years until a British colonel assassinated him in 1905. The British seized the majority of his people’s land and livestock in the years that followed.

Kipchoge araap Chomu, the great-grandson of Samoei, acknowledged that the British had contributed to Kenya’s public health and education institutions, but he also stated that historical injustices needed to be made right.

“We have to demand public apology from the government of the British,” he told Reuters. “After apologies, we also expect reparation.”

On his first trip to a former colony as a monarch, Charles was accompanied by Queen Camilla. Earlier in the day, he arrived at Nairobi’s Presidential Palace to a 21-gun salute and a guard of honour.

Prior to laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and visiting a tree planted at the location in Uhuru Gardens where Kenya declared independence in December 1963, President Ruto and the royal couple planted plants in the palace grounds.

Enthusiastic gardener Charles went to a model urban farm on Tuesday afternoon. He picked lush greens for a local hospital kitchen and looked at fish ponds and a plate of delicious snails.

For the rest of his journey, the king is anticipated to visit conservation projects.