'We regret the past,' King Charles speaks on British colonial brutality in Kenya

Speaking during a dinner at State House in Nairobi on Tuesday, the King said he is seeking to better understand Kenya's painful past and will interact with communities affected. 

“It is the intimacy of our shared history that has brought our people together. However, we must also acknowledge the most painful times of our long and complex relationship. The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,” he said.

“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 grievously affected.”

King Charles also highlighted the atrocities meted on Kenyans especially the Mau Mau terming it ‘abhorrent and unjustifiable’ saying that the two nations should strive to live past the painful history.

“There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty,” he noted.

“None of these 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 a bond for the years ahead.”

The King's remarks followed similar calls by Kenyans to apologise for the colonial brutality.

President William Ruto had also asked the King to address the issue further asking the two nations to put the past behind in order to achieve a better future relationship.

"We cannot live as prisoners of the past. Neither can we go far into the future if we turn our backs on historical actions and omissions whose legacies encumber our present,” he stated.

“While there have been efforts to atone for the death, injury and suffering inflicted on Kenyan Africans by the colonial government, much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations,” President Ruto noted.

UK High Commissioner Neil Wigan, speaking on Citizen TV’s JKLive show last week remained coy on whether the King will actually offer a personal apology for the brutality meted on Kenyans during the period, rather stating that the country had always “expressed regret” over the issue.