British soldiers accused of more abuses in Kenya: What we know

A Kenyan parliamentary study has accused British troops grooming successful the state of wide killings, intersexual maltreatment and quality rights and biology abuses, pursuing years of accumulated complaints from section communities.

The report, published connected Wednesday, recovered that superior misconduct by British soldiers caused them to beryllium viewed arsenic thing of an “occupying force” by section people.

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For the past 60 years, British soldiers successful the British Army Training Unit successful Kenya (BATUK) person routinely trained successful the East African nation, favoured for its temperate upwind and realistic combat scenarios. However, they person attracted rising numbers of accusations of gross violations, ranging from killings to neglectful disposal of subject people chemicals. The astir notorious lawsuit was the execution of a 21-year-old Kenyan woman, Agnes Wanjiru, which gained planetary media attention.

Community activists who person for years sought redress successful Kenyan courts told Al Jazeera the report’s work represented an “enormous victory” not conscionable for Kenya, but for different African countries which big overseas subject bases connected their territory, but are wary of regulating them.

“The Kenyan parliament has demonstrated that the British Army is not supra the law,” said James Mwangi, laminitis of the grassroots advocacy group, Africa Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action (ACCPA), which has been astatine the forefront of bringing assemblage grievances to Kenyan courts, and which advised lawmakers during their investigation.

“The impunity that has been perpetrated by these forces has been appalling. The satellite has seen that African parliaments tin instrumentality measures to combat injustices by these forces, and Kenya has go the archetypal state successful Africa to bash specified a thing,” helium added.

Here’s what we cognize astir the report, the astir superior allegations against the British troops, and what volition hap next:

Soldiers are seen during a grooming league nether the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), astatine a campy successful Laikipia, Kenya, September 30, 2018 [File: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters]

What is BATUK?

BATUK (British Army Training Unit successful Kenya) is simply a imperishable grooming unit based successful Nanyuki, cardinal Kenya. It has been stationed determination since Kenyan independency from the UK successful 1963 and has astir 100 imperishable unit and immoderate 280 rotating short-term troops from the United Kingdom.

The portion trains British troops and provides anti-terrorism grooming for Kenyan troops warring the al-Shabab equipped group, arsenic agreed successful the UK-Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement, which, since 2015, allows some armies to stock quality and training.

In 2022, the UK authorities reported that BATUK had contributed much than 5.8 cardinal Kenyan shillings ($45m) to the section economies successful which its garrisons are based, and that it employed much than 550 section staff. Local businesses adjacent to BATUK grooming sites besides payment from the unit’s presence, it said.

However, determination person been galore complaints from section radical astir the behaviour of the troops. They accidental mishandling of unsafe grooming worldly and unexploded bombs near successful the crushed person caused superior injuries, and they person complained astir however British soldiers behave towards Kenyan women successful the area.

Many Kenyan women accidental they person been near to attraction for children unsocial aft British soldiers they began relationships with near the state astatine the extremity of their training.

There has been nary mechanics wrong the UK oregon Kenyan justness systems to clasp British soldiers nether BATUK to account. On that basis, the UK authorities initially pushed backmost against Kenyan authorities’ attempts to analyse the troops’ behaviour.

In April 2024, therefore, the Kenyan parliament voted to amend the defence statement with the UK to let for section prosecutions of British soldiers.

What does the caller study say?

The 94-page enquiry into the behaviour of BATUK troops was released pursuing a one-and-a-half-year probe by the Kenyan parliament’s defence, quality and overseas relations committee.

The study examined complaints from residents successful Laikipia and Samburu counties successful cardinal Kenya, adjacent to wherever the BATUK campy is. Lawmakers began conducting nationalist hearings to perceive grounds successful June 2024, with victims detailing harrowing accounts of mistreatment by BATUK soldiers. BATUK did not cooperate with the parliamentary investigation, the committee noted.

The study recovered that BATUK soldiers showed a “disturbing trend” of intersexual misconduct, including rape, battle and the neglect of children fathered by the troops.

It recovered that an interior enquiry by BATUK successful 2003 had mishandled grounds and failed to supply justness for women who brought complaints.

BATUK, which the study said does not behaviour biology interaction assessments for its tract exercises, has besides caused superior biology damage. In astatine slightest 1 case, a large occurrence killed livestock and destroyed 4,900 hectares (12,000 acres) of vegetation. BATUK besides illegally dumped subject discarded and toxic materials openly, breaking Kenyan biology law, the study concluded.

Additionally, the Kenyan parliament said British troops showed “gross negligence” successful the mode they handled unexploded ordnance during their grooming and that their neglect had led to aggregate deaths and injuries.

Communities were routinely not informed astir large grooming drills, starring to shock, wounded oregon trauma successful immoderate cases.

Kenyan workers hired to cleanable up ammunition debris were not provided with protective cogwheel successful enactment with Kenyan labour laws, the study added.

Complainants who brought claims of injuries to BATUK were not reasonably compensated, the study found.

A British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) signage stands adjacent to the road, arsenic Kenya’s parliament impeach British soldiers of decades of intersexual abuse, killings, quality rights violations and biology demolition portion grooming successful the country, successful Nanyuki, Laikipia County, Kenya, December 4, 2025 [Monicah Mwangi/Reuters]

What different abuses is BATUK accused of?

Thousands of superior allegations against BATUK members person been made by locals. At the nationalist hearings which parliament conducted, the parent of a young pistillate testified successful June 2024 that her girl had been the unfortunate of a hit-and-run incidental involving a BATUK truck, which near her wheelchair-bound. BATUK paid for the daughter’s infirmary bills for 2 years, but did not compensate the household beyond that, she said.

Another mother, who attended a proceeding holding her five-year-old daughter, narrated however she had been abandoned by a British worker with whom she had been successful a consensual narration erstwhile helium discovered she was pregnant. The worker is believed to person since near Kenya. The pistillate said she needed kid support.

Survivors of a immense March 2021 wildfire, which started astatine the privately-owned Lolldaiga Conservancy quality reserve successful Laikipia, wherever BATUK carries retired trainings, besides brought complaints. The quality reserve houses wildlife similar elephants, buffalo, lions, and the endangered Grevy zebra.

The blaze, which raged for 4 days, is believed to person started aft BATUK utilized achromatic phosphorus, a lethal chemical, during a grooming exercise. The resulting occurrence ripped done the quality reserve’s grounds, burning 4,900 hectares (12,000 acres). It killed livestock and pushed fleeing chaotic animals to swaths of workplace onshore further afield. Community members said the fume was truthful dense that it lingered for days and caused oculus and breathing problems.

One antheral named Linus Murangiri was crushed by a moving conveyance arsenic helium rushed to assistance enactment retired the fire, the BBC reported.

In 2022, the UK’s Ministry of Defence claimed that the occurrence was apt caused by a campy stove that had been knocked implicit during an exercise.

In August 2025, the UK agreed to wage what it called a “generous” colony to the 7,723 claimants who sued BATUK implicit the incidental with the assistance of organisations similar ACCPA. The BBC reported that compensation amounted to conscionable 2.9 cardinal pounds ($3.9m).

The British authorities has besides supported the restoration of burned areas connected the conservancy wherever BATUK exercises proceed to beryllium held.

What happened to Agnes Wanjiru?

Agnes Wanjiru’s sidesplitting successful March 2012, allegedly by a British soldier, was the astir high-profile BATUK case.

Wanjiru, the parent of a five-month-old girl, disappeared connected the nighttime of March 31, aft past being seen with British soldiers astatine the Lion Court Hotel barroom successful Nanyuki. Her bare assemblage was recovered 2 months aboriginal successful a septic vessel connected the edifice grounds, adjacent to the country wherever the BATUK soldiers had been staying. The radical of soldiers had near Kenya by the clip her assemblage was discovered.

A post-mortem determined Wanjiru had been stabbed successful the thorax and abdomen, had a collapsed lung, and had suffered from blunt unit wounded to her chest. She had been beaten and was apt inactive live erstwhile she was placed successful the tank, it said. It was not wide whether she had been sexually assaulted.

In June 2012, the Kenyan constabulary asked that 9 soldiers beryllium questioned by the British Royal Military Police, but accidental they did not person a response. Wanjiru’s household attempted to writer BATUK successful Kenya, but the UK authorities argued the Kenyan tribunal had nary jurisdiction implicit UK troops.

Wanjiru’s execution lawsuit resurfaced successful October 2021 aft a Sunday Times probe revealed that a British worker had murdered her, and that BATUK bosses knew astir the engagement of the worker successful her killing, but tried to screen it up.

One worker who went to apical officials aft proceeding a colleague, identified astatine the clip arsenic Soldier X, confess to the killings was told to “shut up”. The worker said Soldier X took him to the septic vessel and showed him Wanjiru’s body. Soldier X, who was not among the 9 soldiers the Kenyan constabulary initially identified, besides poked amusive astatine the murdered pistillate successful Facebook posts, the Times reported.

The revelation brought renewed attraction to the lawsuit and, this time, UK authorities officials agreed to cooperate with a caller investigation.

In September 2025, a Kenyan tribunal ordered the arrest and extradition of a British national, and successful November, the UK authorities arrested a 38-year-old suspect, Robert Purkiss. The lawsuit could people the archetypal clip a erstwhile oregon existent British worker volition beryllium extradited to look proceedings successful a overseas country, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Purkiss served arsenic a medic successful the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, an Infantry Regiment based successful the northwest of England, and was successful Kenya for a six-week grooming workout astatine the clip of Wanjiru’s death.

He appeared successful a Westminster tribunal connected November 7, wherever a authoritative alleged that Purkiss and others had regularly paid section women for enactment and that they had been “drinking heavily” the nighttime of Wanjiru’s murder, The Guardian reported.

Friends of Wanjiru, a hairdresser, reported that she had told them she was going retired to “hustle” (earn other money) for her daughter, prosecutors told the UK court.

The tribunal besides heard that Purkiss confessed to a workfellow that helium murdered Wanjiru implicit “sex that went wrong”.

Purkiss denied the allegations. His adjacent proceeding is acceptable for December 9.

Rose Wanyua Wanjiku, elder sister to Agnes Wanjiru, 20, holds photographs of Agnes astatine Rose’s location successful the Majengo informal colony successful Nanyuki, Kenya, November 4, 2021 [File: Brian Inganga/AP]

How has the UK authorities responded to the report?

The British High Commission successful Kenya responded successful a connection connected Wednesday, claiming that BATUK had not been sufficiently represented during the parliamentary hearings.

The committee said it had submitted written statements which were not taken into information successful the report, and added that it was acceptable to analyse caller allegations against BATUK “once grounds is provided”.

“While we profoundly regret the challenges which person arisen successful narration to our defence beingness successful Kenya, we are disappointed our submission to the Committee was not incorporated into the report’s conclusions,” the connection said.

What volition hap next?

The parliamentary study recommended that Kenya’s Attorney General should instantly enactment with the UK authorities to extradite Purkiss to Kenya for the ongoing proceedings of Wanjiru’s murder. It besides ordered inquiries into different deaths of section people suspected to person progressive BATUK soldiers.

Negotiations should statesman with the UK wrong 3 months to clasp ex-BATUK soldiers who person neglected their children to account, the study said, and compensation and psychosocial enactment should beryllium provided to victims of intersexual offences committed by BATUK soldiers.

More broadly, the parliamentary study besides recommended that authorities agencies should person much nonstop oversight implicit overseas troops stationed successful the state by processing a codification of behaviour highlighting zero tolerance of gender-based unit and biology degradation.

Kenya likewise hosts 2 US subject bases with fluctuating numbers of personnel. The state often hosts US-Africa subject drills on with respective different African countries.

Mwangi of ACCPA told Al Jazeera that the parliament’s determination was a measurement guardant for communities which person to woody with overseas militaries successful Kenya and elsewhere. Injustices committed by BATUK towards section communities, helium said, dated backmost to Kenya’s assemblage past with the UK, but officials person historically been wary of interrogating soldiers owed to fears that improvement assistance from the UK authorities could beryllium affected.

Kenya is simply a apical recipient of British aid, which mostly supports healthcare and humanitarian efforts. The state was besides allocated a 24.6-million-pound ($33m) improvement fund successful 2023.