Their refusal to mourn highlights the complexity of the legacy of the Queen, who despite widespread popularity has also been seen as a symbol of oppression in parts of the world where the British Empire once stretched. Kenya, which had been under British rule since 1895, was officially named a colony in 1920 and remained so until it gained independence in 1963. Among the worst atrocities under British rule occurred during the Mau Mau Rebellion, which began in 1952 — the year Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne.
The colonial administration at the time carried out extreme acts of torture, including castration and sexual assault, in detention camps where up to 150,000 Kenyans were held. Elderly Kenyans who sued for damages in 2011 were eventually awarded £19.9 million by a British court, to be shared among more than 5,000 claimants. The UK’s Foreign Secretary at the time, William Hague, said: “The British Government recognizes that Kenyans suffered torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration. The British Government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and that they marred Kenya’s progress towards independence”. The Queen’s memory in Africa cannot be separated from that colonial past, Kennesaw State University communications professor Farooq Kperogi told CNN. “The Queen’s legacy began with colonialism and is still wrapped up in it. It was said that the sun never set on the British Empire. No amount of compassion or sympathy her death generated can erase that,” he told CNN. .

“Tragic Period”

While many African leaders have mourned her death — including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who described her reign as “unique and wonderful” — other prominent voices in regional politics have not.
In South Africa, an opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was clear. “We do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because for us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and in the history of Africa,” the EFF said in a statement. “Our interaction with Britain has been one of pain, … death and dispossession and dehumanization of the African people,” he added. Others recalled Britain’s role in the Nigerian civil war, where weapons were secretly supplied to the government for use against Biafrans who wanted to form a breakaway republic. Between 1 million and 3 million people died in this war. British musician John Lennon has returned his MBE, an honorary title, to the Queen in protest at Britain’s role in the war. However, many on the continent remember the queen as a stabilizing force who brought about positive change during her reign.
Nigeria’s Ayodele Modupe Obayelu told CNN: “Her reign saw the end of the British Empire and African countries…became a Republic. She doesn’t really deserve any awards or applause for that, but it was a step in the right direction .” And media publisher Dele Momodu was full of praise, recounting meeting her in 2003 in Abuja while covering her visit to Nigeria. He added that he had fled Nigeria for the United Kingdom in 1995, during the regime of dictator Sani Abacha.
“I told her I was a refugee and now a magazine editor. She said ‘congratulations’ and went to the other people in the line. I salute her. She worked until the end and never got tired of working. She did the best for her country and this is a lesson in leadership” , he told CNN.
Momodu believes that the Queen was indeed trying to “atone” for the brutality of the British Empire. “She came to Nigeria during our independence and some of the items were returned under her reign. That is why the Commonwealth continues to thrive. I feel very sad that the world has lost a great man.” Adekunbi Rowland, also from Nigeria, said: “The Queen’s death represents the end of an era. As a woman, I am intrigued by her story. This young woman had an unprecedented rise to the throne and with much grace and dignity she what she would do to protect the country and Commonwealth she loved no matter what it took.”

Queen of the Commonwealth

The Queen once declared: “I think I have seen more of Africa than almost anyone.” She made her first official visit abroad to South Africa in 1947, as a princess, and would go on to visit more than 120 countries during her reign, many of them on the continent. During her visit to Kenya in 1952 she learned that she had become queen. Her father George died while she was there with Prince Philip and she immediately ascended the throne. As colonialism later collapsed and gave way to independence and self-government in British overseas territories, the former colonies became part of a Commonwealth group of nations led by the Queen, and she worked tirelessly to keep the group together over the years. She forged strong ties with African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, whom she visited twice in South Africa, and Kwame Nkrumah, with whom she was famously pictured dancing during her visit to Ghana in 1961. However, there is now a growing clamor for independence and accountability for Britain’s past crimes, such as slavery. In November 2021, Barbados removed the queen as head of state, 55 years after it declared independence from Britain, and other Caribbean countries such as Jamaica have said they intend to do the same. Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visited Jamaica in March, but faced protests and calls for compensation during the trip. There have also been calls for an official apology for the royal family’s links to slavery. “During her 70 years on the throne, your grandmother did nothing to redress and atone for the sufferings of our ancestors that occurred during her reign and/or during the entire period of the British African trade, of enslavement, cohabitation and colonization”. wrote members of a protest group, the Advocates Network Jamaica. In June, Prince Charles became the first UK monarch to visit Rwanda, where he represented the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. After his mother’s death, he now leads the Commonwealth and will begin a new relationship with its members, about a third of whom are in Africa. Some question whether he will be as effective in building the organization as his mother, and especially how relevant it still is, given its Empire roots.