In the midst of their state visit to Kenya, Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla faced backlash from survivors of colonial-era abuses who criticized the monarch for not issuing a comprehensive apology or suggesting reparations.
During a state dinner on Tuesday, King Charles expressed his “deepest regret” for what he described as abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans during the country’s struggle for independence.
While President William Ruto commended the monarch for taking a step beyond the “tentative and equivocal half-measures of past years,” he emphasized that much more needed to be done.
The Mau Mau revolt from 1952 to 1960 in central Kenya resulted in the death or maiming of around 90,000 Kenyans, with 160,000 detained, according to estimates by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).
UN investigators have also reported gross human rights violations by British colonialists in western Kenya over decades, including land expropriation, killings, torture, and sexual violence against hundreds of thousands of people.
King Charles’ visit occurs at a time when former colonies are increasingly demanding that Britain acknowledges the abuses of its colonial past. Some nations, such as Barbados and Jamaica, have been re-evaluating their ties to the monarchy.
While Britain reached a £20 million ($24 million) out-of-court settlement in 2013 with over 5,200 survivors of Mau Mau conflict abuses, the country has refused to issue a formal apology and rejected claims from other affected communities.
