King Charles plans to acknowledge the painful past between the UK and Kenya, in his visit in the African country later this month. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
King Charles will acknowledge the painful history the UK shares with Kenya later this month after accepting an invitation by the country’s President, William Ruto to celebrate Kenya’s 60th independence anniversary on 12 December.
“The visit will also acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history, including the emergency … His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya,” said King Charles’ deputy private secretary, Chris Fitzgerald to The Guardian.
Charles and Queen Camilla will spend four days in Kenya from 31 October to 3 November. It will mark Charles’s first visit to a Commonwealth country since becoming king.
The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years despite the violent colonial legacy of an uprising in the early 1950s, leading to a period known as “the emergency”, which ran from 1952 until 1960.
The Mau Mau armed movement was fuelled by the resentment Kikuyus felt towards their British rulers and European settlers who farmed land in Kenya, as well as at a lack of political representation. White farmers were targeted in violent attacks as were some Kikuyus who were said to have collaborated with the authorities.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission said 90,000 people were executed, tortured or maimed during the British administration’s counter-insurgency operation.
The UK government made a historic statement of regret in 2013 over the “torture and other forms of ill-treatment” perpetrated by the colonial administration during the emergency period and paid reparations of £19.9m to about 5,200 people.
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On Thursday Kate Middleton and Prince William took part in a mental fitness workshop organised by the charity, SportsAid, reports People.
The visit is part of a series of outings the Prince and Princess of Wales have conducted this week to mark World Mental Health Day.
Joined by SportsAid ambassadors; gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer, Ellie Simmonds, and Commonwealth champion netball player, Ama Agbeze, the couple visited Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, to take part in two practice sessions with young athletes focused on building mental resilience.
The first challenge saw the royal couple try to score points in a netball hoop under various forms of external pressures, such as performing around the clock or with some crowd noise.
Then the couple took part in a game of goalball, a visually-impaired Paralympic sport where all the players wear eyeshades or blindfolds. Tactile lines are used for players to feel where they are and the ball has an internal bell allowing the players to hear where it is.
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