There have been widespread calls for reparations during the visit of King Charles to Kenya but these are unrealistic.
It is now 6o years since Kenya gained independence, almost as long as the 68 years that the UK controlled Kenya. Many of the colonial transgressions are lost in the mists of time. For instance, the British government probably does not know the exact location of the unmarked grave of Dedan Kimathi in Kamiti Prison.
The English did expropriate land for farms in the colonial period but almost all those farms now belong to Kenyans, both large and small. What can King Charles fix today?
In any case, King Charles is effectively a ceremonial president and it is the Prime Minister who would decide on reparations, if any.
But it is in King Charles’s power to help Kenya recover artefacts taken to the UK in the colonial period. For instance, the UK could return the war drum of the Pokomo or the skull of Koitalel.
These have little monetary value but immense cultural significance. So let King Charles do what is possible to secure the return of these precious stolen objects to Kenya.
Quote of the day: “Beware, my lord, of jealousy: It is the green-eyed monster.”
William Shakespeare
His tragedy Othello was first performed on November 1, 1604
