Groups across Kenya has demanded reparations ahead of Prince William the Duke of Cambridge's royal visit to the African country, due to forced evictions and the Mau Mau Uprising.
Tea
farming was a lucrative business in British East Africa, and many
natives had their land seized to set up plantations owned by the
Anglo-Kenyan colonial elite.
The
Mau Mau Uprising which lasted from 1952-1960, is seen in the eyes of
Kenyans an attempt of becoming an independent state, whilst the
British viewed it as a rebellion that must be put down to protect the
lives of Anglo-Kenyans.
When
the uprising was deemed a failure in 1960, an estimated 40,000 people
from both sides were killed.
Kenya
gained independence from the British Empire in 1963, and in the wake
of the Royal's disastrous visit to the Caribbean and Meso-America
where locals called for reparations from London, Kenya has joined in
as the Duke of Cambridge is slated to visit the country.
Prince
William made a statement saying: “My grandmother, Queen Elizabeth
II, gained her position when she and my late grandfather Prince
Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh learned that my great grandfather King
George VI passed away back in England.
Since
then we have felt heavily attached to this east African nation.
On
my visit, I will absolutely apologize for the actions of not just the colonial elite and the British Kenyan Police, but also my own great grandfather's King's African
Rifles”.
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