Prince Harry parts ways with controversial charity African Parks which has faced claims of human rights abuses carried out by its rangers
Prince Harry has stepped down from the board of African Parks, the conservation charity he had served for a decade, in what the organisation described as a "governance refresh". The move comes shortly after it emerged that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the UK from the US, with their children set to start at British schools in September. It also follows sustained scrutiny of the charity after a Mail on Sunday investigation uncovered allegations of intimidation and abuse by rangers it employed.
Harry had been president of African Parks for six years before joining its board of directors in 2023, and the charity thanked him for a "ten-year commitment" while saying he remained a "strong supporter" of its work. The 2024 investigation found evidence of guards paid by African Parks committing rapes, beatings and other abuses against the Baka people in the Republic of the Congo's rainforests, including the death of a man denied medical treatment after being jailed and beaten. African Parks later admitted human rights abuses had occurred in its Odzala-Kokoua National Park since December 2023, following an independent review by law firm Omnia Strategy that it did not make public.
- Prince Harry leaves African Parks board after decade-long involvement
- Charity faced Mail on Sunday claims of ranger abuse against Baka people
- Move follows news of Harry and Meghan's planned return to the UK
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Prince Harry has spent a decade involved with African Parks, a charity that manages national parks and wildlife reserves across several African countries, first as president and more recently as a board director. His departure comes as attention on the organisation has grown, following reporting that raised serious questions about the conduct of rangers it employs to protect these areas.
The scrutiny centres on allegations that guards paid by African Parks mistreated members of the Baka people, an indigenous community living in and around rainforests in the Republic of the Congo, in areas the charity oversees. African Parks later acknowledged, after commissioning its own independent review, that abuses had taken place at one of its sites. The case has prompted broader debate about how conservation projects are run and how the people who live in or near protected land are treated by those employed to guard it.
The story matters both because of the human rights questions it raises about a well-known international conservation charity, and because of Harry's high profile, which has drawn wider attention to an organisation that might otherwise have received little public scrutiny.