At a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, King Charles III and Queen Camilla greeted the Kenyan expatriates in the UK. From October 31 to November 3, the royal couple will travel to the East African nation. This will be Charles’s fourth official visit to Kenya and his first journey to a Commonwealth nation since ascending to the throne last year.
The royal couple was invited by Kenyan President William Ruto to the country, which is gearing ready to commemorate its 60 years of independence from Britain in December.
“The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to Kenya, from Tuesday 31st October to Friday 3rd November 2023, to celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge. The King and Queen will visit Nairobi City County, Mombasa County and surrounding areas,” stated the official statement by the palace.
The statement went on to say that the programme will showcase the various areas of cooperation between the two nations.
These involve attempting “to boost prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development and create a more stable and secure region” , it stated.
In addition to meeting young people, church leaders, officials of the Kenyan government, and Kenyan Marines undergoing training with the UK Royal Marines, the king will also attend a celebration honouring Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.
In addition, Charles plans to address “the more painful aspects” of the relationship by examining the time frame around the end of British colonial control in 1963.
This will entail examining the “Emergency” of 1952–1960, when the Kenyan Kikuyu tribe, known as the Mau Mau, launched a guerrilla battle against European settlers, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency.
“His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya,” said the palace.
The repression of the revolt claimed the lives of almost 10,000 people, so reactions to the royal visit are probably going to be divided.
Following years of litigation, Britain finally agreed in 2013 to pay out approximately 20 million pounds (about $25 million at current exchange rates) to over 5,000 Kenyans who had been abused during the uprising.
The British military’s continued presence in Kenya is another cause of unease.
An investigation of the actions of the British army, which maintains a facility on the outskirts of Nanyuki, a town located around 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Nairobi, was started in August by the Kenyan parliament.
