King Charles tells Kenyans of ‘greatest sorrow’ for past UK wrongdoings

The King has spoken of the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed against Kenyans during their fight for independence from Britain but stopped short of an apology.

Charles used a speech, delivered during a banquet in Kenya held in his honour, to speak of the “greatest sorrow” and “deepest regret” for the “wrongdoings” of the past, a period when Britain’s colonial administration violently put down Kenya’s battle for self-rule.

Kenya’s President William Ruto praised the King’s “exemplary courage” in shedding light on “uncomfortable truths” but described the colonial reaction to African struggles as “monstrous in its cruelty” and said “much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations”.

Kenya’s uprising, commonly known as the Mau Mau rebellion, was an armed movement that began in the early 1950s, fuelled by the resentment some members of the Kikuyu tribe felt towards their British rulers, European settlers who farmed land in Kenya and a lack of political representation.

White farmers were targeted in violent attacks and Kikuyu said to have collaborated with the authorities during the unrest known as the Emergency.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission has claimed 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the British administration’s counter-insurgency.

Subscribe to the Evening Standard: https://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Evening-Standard
for latest breaking news from the UK, US and around the world, plus podcasts and features.

Evening Standard on socials:
Check out our full video catalog: https://www.youtube.com/c/LondonEveningStandard/videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: https://www.standard.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.fb.com/eveningstandard
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eveningstandard
and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evening.standard

Видео King Charles tells Kenyans of ‘greatest sorrow’ for past UK wrongdoings канала Evening Standard