King Charles III says 'no excuse' for British colonial atrocities in Kenya

King Charles III said Tuesday there could be "no excuse" for British colonial atrocities against Kenyans as he visited the country. However, he stopped short of offering the apology that many Kenyans had been hoping for.

"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," Charles said at a state banquet hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto.

He added, “In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected.”

He also said he would visit the Kariokor War Grave Cemetery where he would honour Kenyans and other Africans who died in two world wars.

"We must ensure all are granted the remembrance befitting their service," he said, adding "the wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret. There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans."

Charles' silence

Earlier, he and his wife Queen Camilla visited a number of sites across the capital Nairobi, but neither addressed the demands or concerns of civil groups and families who have been trying to press their case for compensation for injustices they suffered when the country was under British rule.

Some Kenya civil groups as well as victims of British rule have descirbed the ‘’silence’’ of the King on the first day of his visit as "an indignity" and called on him to apologise for the wrongs the British did to Kenyans.

Too difficult to apologize

Read more on RFI English

Read also:
Kenyans demand reparations from Britain ahead of King Charles's visit
King Charles heads to France for three-day state visit