Ruto Chairs Crucial Meeting To Finalize Preparations On UK Royal Couple’s State Visit
The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto chaired a crucial meeting with British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Besides bilateral talks with the host, President William Ruto, which will focus on a wide range of issues including climate change, trade, security and sustainable development, King Charles will meet representatives of the youth, women and other organized groupings of the Kenyan society.
- He will also lay wreath at tomb of unknown freedom fighter at Uhuru Garden in Nairobi.
- In all the meetings, the discussions centred on historical ties between the two countries would feature prominently.
- Britain has been a key development partner since Kenya attained its independence. Kenya has benefited greatly through this corporation.
- This will not however preempt a revisit of the dark history of the colonization.
Kenya is set to make history by becoming the first Commonwealth Nation to host the United Kingdom’s Royal Couple.
President William Ruto chaired a crucial meeting a few days ago to finalize the preparations that would see the Couple being accorded a warm welcome and a high class treatment during their stay.
British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan and other top officials from the Embassy were in attendance.
The plane carrying King Charles 111 and Queen Camilla is expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on October 31.
During a three day state visit, the couple will have several engagements.
Besides bilateral talks with the host, President William Ruto, which will focus on a wide range of issues including climate change, trade, security and sustainable development, King Charles will meet representatives of the youth, women and other organized groupings of the Kenyan society.
He will also lay wreath at tomb of unknown freedom fighter at Uhuru Garden in Nairobi.
In all the meetings, the discussions centred on historical ties between the two countries would feature prominently.
Britain has been a key development partner since Kenya attained its independence. Kenya has benefited greatly through this corporation.
This will not however preempt a revisit of the dark history of the colonization.
The Royal Couple will be reminded of the atrocities that were committed by British colonial soldiers against the freedom fighters.
I’m sure the majesties are fully aware that these matters will come up.
So, after listening to these narrations, King Charles will respond appropriately.
In regard to the issue of compensating the freedom fighters who took the bull by its horn, I would not expect him to give an immediate answer.
This is because the United Kingdom’s position is that they had already sorted out this matter.
For those who have read the Kenya’s history, I’m sure they know this.
The process of compensation reparations started soon after Kenya got its independence.
As a way of mollifying the fighters who had won the war for lands and freedom, the UK government started releasing thousands of pounds to the new government of the founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
JM Kariuki, who later becomes the MP for Nyandarua North before he was assassinated, was the secretary of this Mau Mau veterans’ kitty.
Unfortunately, the monies did not reach the beneficiaries.
To date, it is widely believed that the funds were instead diverted, looted and ended up lining the pockets of Jomo Kenyatta and his key cronies.
The cronies had earlier been enlisted to serve as home guards, corroborators and spies for the oppressive British colonial regime.
When President Mwai Kibaki came to power, the issue of compensation resurfaced.
The surviving Mau Mau fighters and families of the deceased ones wrote to the UK government and filed a case against it. They demanded to be compensated.
Again, they won the case.
They were paid good monies but most of them did not get thier shares.
Reports indicated the lawyers representing them took a lion share of it.
Worse still, some of the surviving fighters hatched conspiracies that saw them defrauding those ignorant and gullible. They stole shares.
So, chances are high that King Charles 111 would not make further commitments.
Again, this is a matter to be adjudicated through legal processes.
Putting this aside, the British government has been endeavouring to support other programmes and projects meant to bolster Kenya’s economic growth.
During this visit, I would expect King Charles to reiterate the UK’s commitment to continue supporting them and flag new areas where they were willing to engage in.
Besides Nairobi, the itinerary of the Royal Couple also indicates they will visit Mombasa.
This is besides visiting one of our national park most likely the Nairobi national park.
Given that Britain had colonized a number of countries in Africa, one may ask. Why did King Charles choose Kenya as the first Commonwealth country he would visit since he got crowned as a King?
To me, this is two-fold. First, he has a fond memory of Kenya because his mother becomes a Queen in 1952 while on her visit here in Kenya.
She was at a hotel called Tree-Top in Nyeri when she received the sad news of demise of her father who was the King.
She was immediately flown to UK to take up the mantle.
Elizabeth became a Queen in the same year that Sir Evelyn Barren declared a state of emergency in Kenya.
While declaring Mau Mau movement as a terrorist organization, Barren, the colonial Governor, minced no word in vowing: We are going to use our mighty to hunt down and crush these terrorists. He did not know they will lose this battle ten years later.
King Charles visit is also coming at a time when President William Ruto is at the helm of power.
So this would be clear indication that the British government fully supports his leadership.
The Royal Couple will be honoring the invitation from Dr Ruto.
We recall that President Ruto flew to UK a few days after being sworn in to attend the burial of the King Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth 11.
He got an opportunity to interact with upcoming King. That is when he invited the Royal Couple to visit Kenya.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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