NAIROBI: King Charles III and Queen Camilla began a state visit to Kenya on Tuesday (Oct 31), facing mounting calls to make an apology over Britain's bloody colonial past.
Although the four-day trip has been billed as an opportunity to look to the future and build on the cordial modern-day ties between London and Nairobi, the legacy of decades of British colonial rule looms large.
But it will also"acknowledge the more painful aspects" of Britain's historic relationship with Kenya as the East African country prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence in December. The royal visit also comes as pressure mounts in some Caribbean Commonwealth countries to remove the British monarch as head of state, and as republican voices in the United Kingdom grow louder.
During their two-day stay in Nairobi, the royal couple will also meet young Kenyans, and attend a state banquet. On Sunday, the Kenya Human Rights Commission urged him to make an"unequivocal public apology ... for the brutal and inhuman treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens", and pay reparations for colonial-era abuses.
Kenya and Britain are key economic partners with two-way trade at around £1.2 billion over the year to the end of March 2023.