Charles III meets with religious leaders as he wraps up Kenya visit

King Charles III met with religious leaders Friday (Nov. 03) to promote peace in Mombasa on the final day of a visit to Kenya.

The King, on a rainy Friday morning, visited East Africa region’s oldest mosque, and the Anglican cathedral of Mombasa where he met leaders from the Christian, Hindu, Muslim and African Traditional Faiths.

The Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics was established 120 years ago. The king who is officially the Supreme Governor of the Church of England,” unveiled a plaque marking his visit at the Mombasa Memorial Cathedral.

The region has suffered the effects of radicalization and terrorism attacks.

The bad weather derailed plans for Charles and Queen Camilla to ride in an electric tuktuk to Fort Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Mombasa’s Old Town. 

The king and queen were treated to a coastal Mijikenda community ceremonial dance at the fort before boarding a tuktuk — an electric motorized rickshaw — for a photo opportunity.

The royal couple were then seen off by President William Ruto and first lady Rachel Ruto at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport to conclude Charles’ first state visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch. 

The program of the King’s 4-day trip focused on efforts to combat climate change, as well as support for creative arts, technology and young people.

The four-day visit was full of symbolism. Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, learned that she had become the U.K. monarch while visiting a game preserve in the East African nation — at the time a British colony — in 1952.

Ruto said the visit “opened a new chapter in Kenya-UK relations and enhanced our economic and cultural co-operation and collaboration.”

Additional sources • AFP