Kenya Celebrates Removal of British Queen Victoria Statue
The removal of a prominent reminder of Kenya’s British colonization is being celebrated — five years later.
The statue Britain’s Queen Victoria outlasted several of statues from before Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963.
It was beheaded and thrown into nearby brush in 2015, after standing in Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi for more than century.
Nairobi resident Samuel Obiero was among those this week who welcomed the removal of the statue, saying citizens do not want to be reminded of slavery, colonialism and the suffering it brought.
Worldwide, statues that pay homage to people with a history linked to racism and slavery are coming down.
The push accelerated after the death of George Floyd, a black American who died last month after a white police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The officer is jailed on a murder charge, and the FBI is investigating whether civil rights violations occurred.
Three other officers on the scene are charged with aiding and abetting.
