The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister Leslie Miller says he will attend no event involving King Charles III during next week’s royal visit, declaring he does not “give a damn” about the monarch because Britain has refused to apologise for slavery.

“I don’t give a damn about the King,” Mr Miller said on the sidelines of the opening of Diplomatic Week 2026. “Period. I will go to no function with no King. My King is God and my Saviour. Why would I go to him when this fella refused to apologise for slavery and doesn’t want to discuss reparations?”

He questioned the purpose of the visit.

“What is the man coming here for? Explain that to me,” he said. “Could somebody tell me if he coming to apologise for slavery of the British, or is he coming to give us some money for what they did to our people? If he ain’t coming to do that – if the guy don’t breathe again, it won’t bother me.”

Mr Miller also distanced himself from the Rastafari movement, insisting that his position reflected the views of ordinary Bahamians rather than any particular group.

“I ain’t no Rastafarian, them fellas by themselves. I’m a Bahamian. I agree with the average pot cake-that's my people. The 65 percent of us who are pot cakes-that's who I represent. Nobody else, that crew,” he said.

His comments come as The Bahamas prepares to receive King Charles III, with the royal visit expected to reignite debate over slavery, reparations and the country’s constitutional ties to the British monarchy.

A Rastafari group, led by Royal Ambassador High Priest Richmond McKinney of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress (EABIC), plans to rally during the visit and present a formal petition to the King.

The petition calls for a formal apology from the British state, reparatory compensation, African repatriation and greater independence from Britain. The group is also seeking structural measures to address the lasting effects of slavery and colonial rule, along with a formal process for continued engagement with British and diplomatic institutions.

Mr McKinney said the Rastafari community had advocated for reparations and self-determination for decades, arguing that The Bahamas could not claim full independence while remaining constitutionally connected to the British monarchy.

The planned protest comes amid renewed calls for reparatory justice across the Caribbean. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee recently said the Royal Family should not visit the country “empty-handed”, demanding an apology for slavery and colonisation while renewing its call for The Bahamas to become a republic.

Mr McKinney pointed to Barbados’ transition to a republic in 2021 and Jamaica’s efforts to move away from the monarchy as examples of the wider regional push for greater self-determination.

The EABIC argues that the abolition of slavery did not repair the damage caused by generations of forced labour, family separation, displacement and exploitation. Its petition calls for reparations that extend beyond symbolic recognition to meaningful financial and structural measures, as well as practical support for people of African descent who wish to return to Africa.