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King Charles to Discuss Colonialism During Kenya Visit


FILE — Britain's King Charles III waves from a car during a procession down the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on September 20, 2023.
FILE — Britain's King Charles III waves from a car during a procession down the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on September 20, 2023.

LONDON — A statement released Friday by Buckingham Palace said King Charles III will next week embark on a four-day trip to Kenya where he is expected to discuss a range of things, among them "the more painful aspects" of the United Kingdom's historic relationship with the East African nation.

Buckingham Palace said Charles is expected to talk on the 1895 – 1963 period where Britain colonized Kenya.

This will include the "Emergency" of 1952-1960, when colonial authorities imposed a state of emergency in response to the Mau Mau guerrilla campaign against European settlers, added the palace statement.

While announcing Charles four-day trip earlier this month, the palace said, "his Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya."

The choice of Kenya for Charles first visit to a Commonwealth nation since becoming king in September has special resonance for the royal family.

It was in Kenya in 1952 that the king's late mother — Queen Elizabeth II — learned of the death of her father, King George VI, marking the start of her historic 70-year reign.

FILE — Memorial items are displayed at Treetops Lodge where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stayed the night her father died, marking the beginning of her reign in 1952.
FILE — Memorial items are displayed at Treetops Lodge where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stayed the night her father died, marking the beginning of her reign in 1952.

Charles and his wife Queen Camilla are scheduled to arrive in Kenya's capital, Nairobi on Tuesday where they will be welcomed by President William Ruto.

The Commonwealth leader is scheduled to spend two days in Nairobi where he will participate in a state banquet and Kenyan youth and entrepreneurs.

Charles will also visit a new museum dedicated to Kenya’s history and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens, where the East African nation declared independence in December 1963.

Thereafter, the royals will travel to the coastal city of Mombasa, where they will visit a nature reserve and meet representatives of various religions.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper has billed Kenya as "the first stop" on the king's "mission to save the Commonwealth."

Poppy Cullen, a lecturer of African history at the University of Cambridge said Charles is trying to continue his late mother's legacy.

"The late Queen was very much connected to the Commonwealth," Cullen said.

"And I imagine that the British government will be keen that the king sort of does something similar to try and raise its profile or keep it together," she added.

Cullen said Charles's visit is an opportunity for Britain to show other nations that there are benefits to being an independent republic within the Commonwealth, like Kenya.

"It does help potentially as a model for others," said the lecturer.

The Commonwealth is a grouping of 56 countries — most of them former British colonies, and including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Over a dozen Commonwealth nations still recognize the UK monarch as head of state.

However, clamor to become a republic is growing among some members, among them Jamaica and Belize. Barbados already ditched having the UK's monarch as head of state in 2021.

Cullen also commented on the announcement of Charles discussing the former colonial ties between Britain and Kenya.

If he apologizes or expresses regret then other countries "will expect something themselves," Cullen said.

"I think it will potentially set a kind of precedent," she added.

After Prince William expressed "profound sorrow" for the slave trade during a trip to Jamaica last year, stopping short of a formal apology, Charles's words in Kenya will be "watched very closely," Cullen said.

After a court case lasting several years, Britain in 2013 agreed to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans who had suffered abuse during the Mau Mau revolt, in a deal worth approximately $25 million.

Kenya's president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the visit by Charles and Camilla was an "opportunity to enhance our collaboration in various areas of shared interest."

The visit by the royal family will happen while tension between the Britain and Kenya continues due to the presence of British troops in the East African nation.

In August, Kenya's parliament launched an inquiry into the activities of the British army, which has a base on the outskirts of the town of Nanyuki, about 200 kilometers north of Nairobi.

Charles has made three previous official visits to Kenya, in 1971, 1978 and 1987, and both the king and queen have also visited the country privately.

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