King Charles III's Kenyan Tour Is Not Exactly Welcome by Many Citizens Due to the Royal Family's History of Colonialism
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All eyes are on King Charles III this week as he embarks on a crucial tour to Kenya. How the monarch handles this sensitive and controversial visit will set the tone for years to come in the royal family. The palace has struggled to reconcile British colonialism in the past and Charles really can’t afford a single misstep in his already rocky reign. (No one could forget Prince William and Kate Middleton’s uncomfortable Caribbean tour in 2022.)
Palace advisers aren’t giving too many hints about addressing the “painful aspects” of the two countries’ “shared history,” according to The Daily Beast, but Kenyan citizens are hoping he confronts the 1952-1960 conflict head-on. During that tumultuous time, it’s estimated that 90,000 indigenous Kenyans, known as the Mau Mau, were executed and tortured when they tried to take their land back from the British, per the Kenya Human Rights Commission. Others were beaten, raped, and put into concentration camps. It wasn’t until 2013 that the British government took responsibility and paid $24.1 million in reparations.
Given this horrific history, it’s easy to understand why some Kenyans would prefer that Charles stay away from their country. “A royal visit in itself is not something that many Kenyans would have wanted or needed, because it awakens thoughts and feelings about the colonial past that many people have buried and never want exhumed,” Olympic athlete and writer Dominic Kirui told the media outlet. “A royal visit only serves to remind people about the injustices that were committed and the pain they suffered, so I cannot believe it is something Kenyans would be eager to see or witness.”
King Charles’ office is promising that they “will acknowledge the more painful aspects of the U .K. and Kenya’s shared history,” but Kenyans want an outright apology. A royal parading around in a country where people are still suffering isn’t the best optics for the palace. Kenyan-born lawyer, and current U.K. resident James Mugo summed it up best to The Daily Beast.
“Unless King Charles delivers anything less than an outright apology for the crimes committed by the colonists, he will not be welcome in Kenya,” he concluded. “There are millions of people who are still languishing in poverty right now as a result of the British’s actions.”
Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.