The long awaited moment of King Charles III and the Queen consort Camilla is finally here. The two arrived some few minutes to 11 pm Monday where they landed on a Royal Air Force.
They are here for a four day visit that is expected to kick off today in celebration of the relationship between the two countries and continue to bond the relationship. They will be visiting Nairobi, Mombasa and all the other neighboring areas.
Buckingham Palace on October 11 said the visit was aimed at celebrating the “warm relationship” between the two countries and also “acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history including the Emergency” in 1952-1960, a reference to bloody rebellions against colonial rule.
The first lady Rachel Ruto will be holding a meeting with the queen later in the day where she is expected to take the queen through the activities she has delved into since she came into office last year. One of the biggest projects that she has done was one that was launched early 2023 dubbed as LEGEND. Leveraging Equality for Gender Inclusive Economic Development is a project or rather a grant targeted at unlocking access to finance by youth and women-led enterprises in the poultry, horticulture and aquaculture value chains.it is also aims at improving the social-economic prosperity of entrepreneurs, alongside gender inclusion and environmental sustainability.
This visit comes when the nation is preparing for the celebration of 60 years of independence from the British people. King Charles is expected to deepen the understanding of the wrongs suffered by the legends of Kenya during the period of colonialism as the Palace’s report indicated.
“Their Majesties’ program will reflect the ways in which Kenya and the United Kingdom are working together, notably to boost mutual prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development and create a more stable and secure region,” Buckingham Palace said.
Kenyans on the other expressed their deep expectation on this day’s visit allover social media.
”…Before King Charles III and Queen Camilla leave the country, they must announce in public that the United Kingdom (UK) ill compensate Freedom Fighters for what they underwent,” @MburukiSilas on X said.
“… We eagerly await meaningful discussions on climate financing and AI during their stay,” @Kaikainaipaa tweeted on X.
Narok senator, Mr. Ledama Ole Kina being among a section of leaders from the Azimio Coalition, advised that in as much as Kenyans want an apology an an official address on matters independence and Mau-mau, he believes that such a chance will bring fortunes if Kenyans stop pointing fingers.
“The most important thing for us to say is how can we benefit and I want to reiterate the fact that we have issues of foreigners owning huge chunks of land in Laikipia yet our people should start benefitting. We should have this conversation but is it fair to point all our daggers at the monarch when it’s coming? No. Mind you the British monarchy holds this country in very high esteem,” the senator said.
