King Charles, on the second day of his trip to Kenya, said he has “deepest regret” for colonial abuses in Kenya during the British rule and acknowledged there are “no excuses” for the past but stopped short of an apology.
King Charles is on a four-day visit to Kenya with Queen Camilla where, he said, he wished to deepen his own understanding of the “wrongs” committed during the British rule of the East African country but also to bolster "a modern partnership of equals facing today's challenges".
King Charles’ statement comes amid the widespread calls for him to formally apologise for the violent British rule.
While he didn’t apologise, King Charles said the “wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.” He said, “There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged... a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse.”
"None of this can change the past but by addressing our history with honesty and openness, we can perhaps demonstrate the strength of our friendship today, and in so doing, we can I hope continue to build an ever-closer bond for the years ahead,” he said.
Charles and Camilla received a ceremonial red carpet greeting from President William Ruto, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Uhuru Gardens memorial park.
The so-called "Emergency" period was one of the bloodiest insurgencies of the British empire and at least 10,000 people -- mainly from the Kikuyu tribe -- were killed, although some put the true figures much higher. Tens of thousands more were rounded up and detained without trial in camps where reports of executions, torture and vicious beatings were common.
In his address, the President said the Emergency period “intensified the worst excesses of colonial impunity”, while calling the British response to the Kenyan independence movement "monstrous in its cruelty".
(With agency inputs)
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.