In a moment steeped in symbolism, King Charles on Wednesday pinned replacement medals on the chest of a veteran who served in the British Army during World War II.
Charles handed the five medals to former corporal Samweli Mburia, during a poignant ceremony where other old soldiers who fought for Britain against Hitler’s regime also received replacements for their military honours.
It is claimed Mr Mburia is 117 years old and when told of his great age the King said: “I think you must have been living on wild honey and locusts.”
Many Kenyans who served with the British threw away their medals during the Mau Mau uprising against colonial rule in the 1950s, for fear of being accused of being British collaborators.
Charles shook the hand of the elderly veteran and thanked him for his service and lighted the mood by asking: “I hope all the right ones are there.”
Specialist medal auctioneers Spink sourced the original medals – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, Defence Medal, War Medal – for Mr Mburia who served in Egypt, Abyssinia and Burma with the Royal Engineers.
Mr Mburia’s daughter Idah Kagweni, 54, said during the time of the Mau Mau rebellion some ex-soldiers threw their medals in the sea or hid them – and had since been unable to locate them.
It came after the King on Tuesday night told the Kenyan people of his “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” at Britain’s “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” during the colonial era.
At a state banquet in Nairobi, Charles said there was “no excuse” for British “wrongdoings” in the East African nation, particularly against the Mau Mau rebellion, which saw 11,000 people killed.
