Cloud of colonialism hangs over Queen Elizabeth’s legacy in Africa
“I cannot mourn,” one wrote on Twitter, posting an image of what she said was her grandmother’s “movement pass” — a colonial document which prevented free travel for Kenyans under British rule in the east African country. Another wrote that her grandmother “used to narrate to us how they were beaten & how their husbands were taken away from them & left to look after their kids,” during colonial times. “May we never forget them. They are our heroes,” she added. Their refusal to mourn highlights the complexity of the legacy of the Queen, who despite widespread popularity was also seen as a symbol of oppression in parts of the world where the British Empire once extended.However, there is now a growing clamor for independence and accountability over Britain’s past crimes such as slavery. In November 2021, Barbados removed the Queen as its head of state, 55 years after it declared independence from Britain, and other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, have indicated they intend to do the same.Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visited Jamaica in March but they faced protests and calls for reparations during the trip. There were also calls for a formal apology for the royal family’s links to slavery. “During her 70 years on the throne, your grandmother has done nothing to redress and atone for the suffering of our ancestors that took place during her reign and/or during the entire period of British trafficking of Africans, enslavement, indentureship and colonization,” wrote members of a protest group, the Advocates Network Jamaica.In June, Prince Charles became the first UK royal to visit Rwanda, where he was representing the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.Following his mother’s death, he now heads the Commonwealth, and will embark on a new relationship with its members, about a third of which are in Africa.Some are asking whether he will be as effective in building the organization as his mother, and above all, how relevant it still is, given its roots in Empire.
