Accompanied by calls to apologize for crimes committed during British colonial rule, King Charles III of Great Britain. began a four-day state visit to Kenya. The monarch and Queen Camilla were received with military honors by President William Ruto on Tuesday in Nairobi. The British embassy had already stated beforehand that the visit would also honor “the painful aspects” of our shared past.

This includes, above all, the bloody defeat of the Mau Mau uprising between 1952 and 1960. At least 10,000 people died then. Tens of thousands more were locked up in camps without due process. There were numerous reports of executions, torture and cruel ill-treatment in these camps.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission had condemned Charles III. Shortly before his arrival, he was asked to issue an “unequivocal apology for the brutal and inhuman treatment” Kenyans were subjected to during decades of colonial rule. In addition, Britain would have to pay reparations.

In 2013, Britain agreed to pay a total of almost 20 million pounds (22.90 million euros at current exchange rates) in compensation to more than 5,000 Kenyan victims of abuse during the Mau Mau uprising. The then foreign secretary, William Hague, had expressed London’s “regret” for the crimes, but no formal apology.

Although the official visit program of King Charles III. Focused primarily on the issues of climate change, art, technology and youth development, the monarch also wants to take time “to deepen his understanding of the injustices” suffered by Kenyans during the British colonial era, according to the Palace of Buckingham.

The visit to Kenya is the King’s first trip to another Commonwealth country since his accession to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. The trip is also considered historic because this year Kenya celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence from the British Empire. (December 12, 1963).

From: APA/AFP/dpa