King Charles to acknowledge 'painful' colonial past on state visit to Kenya
Source: The Guardian
King Charles to acknowledge ‘painful’ colonial past on state visit to Kenya
Monarch’s recognition will come as country prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain
Nadeem Badshah
Wed 11 Oct 2023 19.32 BST
First published on Wed 11 Oct 2023 18.34 BST
King Charles will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of Britain’s past actions in Kenya during a state visit later this month.
The visit follows an invitation from the country’s president, William Ruto, whose country will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain on 12 December. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years despite the violent colonial legacy of an uprising in the early 1950s, which led to a period known as “the emergency”, which ran from 1952 until 1960.
The Mau Mau armed movement was fuelled by the resentment some members of the Kikuyu tribe felt towards their British rulers and European settlers who farmed land in Kenya, as well as at a lack of political representation. White farmers were targeted in violent attacks as were some Kikuyu who were said to have collaborated with the authorities.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission said 90,000 people were executed, tortured or maimed during the British administration’s counterinsurgency operation. The UK government made a historic statement of regret in 2013 over the “torture and other forms of ill-treatment” perpetrated by the colonial administration during the emergency period and paid reparations of £19.9m to about 5,200 people.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/11/king-charles-to-acknowledge-painful-past-on-state-visit-to-kenya
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