Kenya’s President William Ruto on Tuesday, October 31, hosted a State banquet in honor of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla of the United Kingdom.
British monarchs King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived on October 31, 2023, for a four-day state visit.
This is the first official visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to an African country and the first to a Commonwealth member State since their coronation in May 2023.
In his address, the King spoke about the wrongdoings of Britain’s colonial era, expressing his greatest sorrow and regret.
He admitted for the first time that unjustifiable acts of violence were committed against Kenyans especially freedom fighters during their independence struggle.
“We must acknowledge the most painful times of our longer relationship, the wrongdoing of the past is a cause of the greatest sorrows and violence committed against Kenyans, and for that, there can be no excuse,” he said.
“In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected,” he added.
Although the King did not issue an official apology; he said that the friendship between Kenya and Britain could be strengthened by addressing our historical injustices with honesty and openness.
On his part, President William Ruto, ended up applauding the King for addressing uncomfortable truths, adding that much still needed to be done to achieve full reparations.
“The colonial reaction to African struggles for sovereignty, and self-rule was monstrous in its cruelty,
“While there have been efforts to atone for the death, injury, and suffering inflicted on Africans by the colonial government, much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations,” the president said.
During the 1952-1960 Mau Mau revolt in central Kenya, some 90,000 Kenyans were killed or maimed and 160,000 detained, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) estimated.
