King honours Kenyan World War veterans

King Charles III talks to World War two veteran Charles Mburia at Kariorkor War Cemetery in Nairobi when the King went to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Donning a black suit freighted with medals, World War II veteran Michael Deya Nyagudi watches proudly as Britain's King Charles III honours four of his comrades-in-arms at the Kariokor Cemetery.

Unlike his peers, who because of the vagaries of war and old age are on wheelchairs, Nyagudi can walk albeit with a walking stick, which he clasps with his left hand drilling it into the soil with every step.

Decades ago, that same hand wielded a rifle during the war between 1939 and 1945. Years later, as warring nations vowed never again would they fight at a scale as devastating as the World Wars, Nyagudi's African colleagues in the war would return home to deploy the lessons gleaned from war to force out colonialists.

Like many of the then young African men, Nyagudi could have spent his youth on less violent undertakings. He could have chosen to be a fisherman like many of his kinsmen from Nyanza, a teacher, a doctor, or whatever he may have desired.

Forcefully conscripted into the British army, Nyagudi had little choice. The British Empire had decided that he, and many other young Kenyans, would fight their master's war. A war with enemies they never knew existed. 

"We didn't know where we were going. We just followed the white man," he says of their World War exploits. Nyagudi's memory is yet to fail him, and it is filled with the harrowing memories of watching healthy friends lose their lives over a war that was never theirs to fight.

Medals of honour

It is these comrades, who fought alongside Nyagudi, that King Charles hoped to honour yesterday when he visited the burial site of Kenyan soldiers who died in the World Wars. Fifty-nine of the graves have been identified.

The King and Queen Camilla laid wreaths in front of their graves. A parade of Kenyan and British soldiers in combat gear, with their sleeves rolled, was present at the site. 

The King and Queen met the surviving veterans, a gesture Nyagudi appreciated.

"I am happy to be here and see the graves of our friends who died in battle and that the British remember those who fought alongside them," said the former warrant officer II, the first to greet Charles.

The two spoke, with Charles keen to know details of Nyagudi's life, like when he retired and where the former Royal Airborne officer has been living since. 

"Eighty-five," came the answer to the first question. "Kisumu," Nyagudi said to the second.

Charles was also interested in learning about the other four, Lance Corporal John Kavai, Private Kefa Chajira, Private Ezekiel Nyanjom Anyange and Corporal Samweli Nthigai Mburia, to whom he handed medals.

Mburia told the press agency AFP that he had thrown away his earlier medal for fear of retribution from freedom fighters.

"I hope we can do something special for you," the AFP quoted Charles as telling one of the veterans as he handed them medals in recognition of their contribution to the World War.

Call for reparations

On Tuesday, the King promised to address Kenya's and the UK's history with "honesty and openness", saying there could be "no excuse" for the brutality meted upon Kenyans during the independence struggle.

"In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I deepen my understanding of some of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected. None of this can change the past, but by addressing our history with honesty and openness, we can, perhaps, demonstrate the strength of our friendship today," he said at a banquet at the State House.

The 74-year-old Head of State stopped short of apologising for his nation's dark colonial history, expressing his "greatest sorrow and deepest regrets", a more cautious approach that the UK has adopted over the years. The King had said his visit to Kenya would acknowledge the "painful aspects" of Kenya's and the UK's shared history.

President William Ruto had called for full reparations to victims of colonial brutality, highlighting the "monstrous cruelty" meted out to freedom fighters.

"While there have been efforts to atone for the death, injury and suffering inflicted on Kenyan Africans by the colonial government, much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations," said the President at the Tuesday evening event.

King Charles would later talk about climate action at the United Nations Nairobi Office. He termed the subject "increasingly urgent", highlighting climate change and biodiversity loss-related devastations across the commonwealth "from rising sea levels that threaten small island states and coastal communities, to droughts that have left millions at risk of famine."

"Wildfires have left countless acres bereft of the healthy forests that sustain our planet and our livelihoods, and cyclones and floods continue to devastate both farms and cities.  It is particularly heart-breaking to know that in the Horn of Africa alone, tens of millions of people face severe hunger and drought," said Charles, adding joint efforts to combat global warming, biodiversity loss and climate change.

He lauded efforts by UN agencies to mitigate the effects of climate change, as he had Kenya's leading role in climate action, a subject close to his heart, on Tuesday.

"Kenya’s efforts to address the existential challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss are remarkable.  From generating over ninety per cent of your electricity from renewable sources, to ambitious reforestation and restoration programmes, to hosting the first Africa Climate Summit here, in Nairobi, last month, Kenya is offering extraordinary leadership," the King said at the banquet.

President Ruto had touted a stronger Commonwealth to help address climate-related challenges. "I trust that this visit, focused on community, sustainability and innovation as pillars of progress, will inspire Your Majesty to forge ahead with a strong vision for (a) stronger Kenya-United Kingdom partnership, and of the Commonwealth as a beacon of hope for humanity in a sustainable, prosperous future for all in a green and clean planet."

Karura Forest run

As Charles visited the UN office yesterday, Camilla toured the Brook donkey sanctuary at the Kenya Society for the Protection of Animals. 

The King later planted a tree at the Karura Forest, where he met Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai's daughter Wanjira Maathai and marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge. He toured the forest at the invitation of 10-year-old Karen Karimi.

Charles also flagged off a 5km race in the forest where many city residents have their morning runs.

The King made other stops at the Nairobi Street Kitchen, meeting creatives, and attended a reception at the British High Commissioner's residence. 

The royal couple wrapped up the second of their four-day State visit at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage. They will be in Mombasa today.