King Charles III acknowledges 'unjustifiable acts of violence' against Kenyans during Commonwealth visit

King Charles III acknowledged "wrongdoings of the past" from the British Empire's rule over Kenya in his first visit to a Commonwealth nation since ascending the throne.

The British monarch delivered a speech at the State Banquet held at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, discussing the U.K.'s relationship with the African nation.

Charles first started by recalling poignant memories his family made in Kenya, including when his late mother Queen Elizabeth II "arrived here in 1952 a princess, but left as queen" after the death of King George VI and the moment in 2010 when Prince William "proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law" Princess Kate.

"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," Charles said.

"There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged, as you said at the United Nations, a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty – and for that, there can be no excuse."

The British monarch said he plans to "deepen my own understanding of these wrongs" during his visit to Kenya and "meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected."

Though "none of this can change the past," Charles said, "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 an ever-closer bond for the years ahead," he concluded. "As Jomo Kenyatta said, 'Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future.'"

Britain's colonial past in Kenya explained

In the age of colonialism, Kenya was one of the jewels of the British Empire. It was the starting point for an ambitious railway project linking the Indian Ocean coast with the African interior and the destination for thousands of white settlers who built coffee and tea plantations.

But the colonial administration also replaced Black leaders, pushed local people off their land and imposed crippling taxes.

That set the stage for the Mau Mau Rebellion of the 1950s, which hastened the end of colonial rule, but continues to cloud relations between the U.K. and Kenya. Colonial authorities resorted to executions and detention without trial as they tried to put down the insurrection, and thousands of Kenyans said they were beaten and sexually assaulted by agents of the administration.

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In 2013, the U.K. government condemned the "torture and ill-treatment" that took place during the rebellion as it announced a 19.9 million-pound settlement with more than 5,000 victims

Kenya became independent in 1963, but the country has maintained close, if sometimes troubled, ties with the U.K.

Contributing: Danica Kirka and Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press

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