LIVE UPDATES: King Charles Arrives at Uhuru Gardens

King Charles has arrived at the Uhuru Gardens where he is expected to interact with Kenyans.

The UK Monarch arrived in the company of President William Ruto, First Lady Rachel Ruto, Queen Camilla, UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly among other senior officials.

King Charles III laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, Lang’ata before proceeding to explore the facility which also features a museum.

Later, the King visited City Shamba, a food security initiative in Nairobi’s Eastlands aimed at positioning urban areas as part of the solution to food insecurity.

President William Ruto had earlier welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla at State House Nairobi.

At around 1048 hours on Tuesday, October 31, the King’s motorcade snaked its way to the State House to a warm reception by the President, a host of dignitaries and a guard of honor mounted by the Kenya Defence Forces.

After a brief session of both national anthems, KDF soldiers fired the customary 21-gun salute to honor the visiting Monarch. The King then inspected the guard of honor and subsequently planted a tree at State House to mark his historic visit to Kenya as the UK Monarch.  

The King and Queen will be in the country for a four-day visit, their first in a Commonwealth nation since their coronation in May 2023.

In their three-day trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla will tour various places in Mombasa and Nairobi.

Additionally, the British monarchs are expected to hold talks with President William Ruto aimed at strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and Kenya.

According to a statement shared by the Royal Family, their majesties will be treated to a ceremonial welcome at State House Nairobi hosted by President William Ruto.  Further, President Ruto will host the duo for a State Banquet to be attended by various dignitaries.

Also listed in the King’s itinerary is a visit to the United Nations office in Gigiri, Nairobi which is the only UN Headquarters in a Commonwealth country.

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Additionally, King Charles will attend a technology exhibition featuring innovations from young Kenya entrepreneurs.

Besides his engagements in Nairobi, King Charles will also travel to Mombasa to visit the Mtongwe Naval Base where officers drawn from the Royal Marines train Kenyan Navy soldiers. 

The Queen will also meet survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, learning how they are supported and sharing her own insights from working in this area and later meet faith leaders from Mombasa’s diverse community in the coastal city. 

However, their visit is clouded by jitters from various groups demanding audience from the UK government over what they called atrocities meted on them by the colonial administration.