The Kenya Human Rights Commission has demanded from King Charles “an unequivocal public apology” for abuses committed during colonialism. Charles arrived in Nairobi on Monday, accompanied by Queen Camilla, on her first visit to a Commonwealth country since her coronation, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Kenya’s independence.
The monarch was received on Tuesday with 21 salutes, accompanied by President William Ruto, and contributed to the planting of several trees in the gardens of the Presidential Palace. The royal couple next visited the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens, the site where the African country declared its independence in 1963.
During the four-day visit, the monarch is expected to acknowledge “the painful aspects of the shared history between the United Kingdom and Kenya.” According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, “Her Majesty will spend time delving into the errors that the people of Kenya suffered during that period.”
The “period” to which the statement refers is known as “the emergency”, between 1952 and 1962 (at the climax of the fight for independence), when it is estimated that British soldiers forced the confinement of one and a half million of Kenyans in concentration camps, where they were subjected to torture, rape and abuse.
The treatment of thousands of Kenyans during the “Mau Mau rebellion” was described in 1957 as “reminiscent of conditions in Nazi Germany or communist Russia”, in a letter to British authorities by the then attorney general of the colony, Eric Griffith-Jones.
More than 5,000 Kenyans joined a collective legal action over abuses committed during “the emergency.” The court battle dragged on for more than a decade until an out-of-court settlement was reached in 2013 with an estimated payment of £20 million (€23 million) in victim compensation and a statement of “repentance and regret.” by the British Government.
At the Commonwealth of Nations summit held last year, Charles surprised everyone and everyone with a reference to the role of slavery. In Kenya, leaders of the Nandi ethnic group hope that the monarch will go further and directly apologize for abuses, torture, murders and land expropriations.
The ghost of the wounds of colonialism has haunted Charles since his accession to the throne. Some of the 56 countries integrated into the Commonwealth of Nations – most of them former British colonies – intend to open a debate on reparations for slavery. Others, like Jamaica, aspire to follow the path of Barbados and break ties with the British monarchy by proclaiming themselves a republic.
