The government of Kenya has launched an inquiry into British soldiers stationed in the East African country, marking the first such inquiry into UK troops by the former colony since it gained independence in 1963.
Kenya’s parliamentary defense committee is leading the inquiry into allegations of murder, sexual abuse and environmental destruction by the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk).
Kenyan lawyer Kelvin Kubai, who is representing residents suing Batuk over alleged environmental abuses, noted that Kenyans have no “clear cut channel through which victims of British army abuse can seek redress.”
The inquiry is part of a larger pushback against the Kenya-UK defense treaty, which was renewed in 2021 but not implemented until April of this year because of concerns raised by residents and local politicians near the base.
The unit’s base resides in Nanyuki, about 125 miles north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
Among the most significant abuses believed to be committed by British troops is the murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother whose body was found stabbed and stuffed into a septic tank.
In the latest version of the Kenya-UK defense treaty, murder was not included in the list of crimes that Kenyan authorities could prosecute British soldiers for.
Kenyan and UK authorities have been accused of taking a lackadaisical approach to the case and the British army has been accused of attempting a coverup.
Nelson Koech, the chair of the defense committee leading the inquiry, said that if significant abuses in violation of the treaty are found, it may allow Kenya to back out of the 2021 defense treaty.
“If we realize that there’s been a lot of activity that spits in the face of [the treaty], it gives us room to re-look at the agreement, and even to exit,” Koech said.
There have also been claims that the army has left unexploded bombs on grounds accessible by the public and uses chemicals during military drills that risk lives, a claim the British army has denied.
“The British army use white phosphorus illuminant rounds on training exercises in the UK and overseas, they are never used as a weapon. They are not considered to be hazardous to health and safety, provided that the existing safety precautions are followed. In Kenya, the British army only fires white phosphorus on Archer’s Post training area, which is a Kenyan Ministry of Defence gazetted training area and not communal land,” an Army spokesperson told UK media.
But Koech said the issues being brought up can no longer be ignored by the Kenyan government. “If Batuk, like it’s claimed, has been committing injustices then we don’t want any form of neocolonialism. As a country we will say no.”