Kenya is to launch a public inquiry into alleged crimes committed by British troops including the murder of a young prostitute.
Kenya’s National Assembly Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee adopted the proposal last week, announcing that the inquiry would involve the UK Embassy.
MPs said the move follows residents’ concerns over activities of soldiers posted to the British Army Training Unit (BATUK) in Nanyuki, Laikipia County.
In a statement issued last week, the Kenyan government said it includes the alleged murder of Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru in 2012 and claims that BATUK activities caused a devastating fire that razed down a section of the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch in 2021.
MP Nelson Koech said the inquiry would “provide an opportunity for aggrieved Kenyans to finally get justice.”
The politician also said that the probe would be a “critical pillar” to the defence committee’s resolve to “ensure Kenya can hold to account visiting troops that flout the law” on Kenyan soil.
“You recall we even put it among our recommendations that foreign soldiers who commit the offence of murder should be tried under the Kenyan law, as well as the whole issue of corporate social responsibility for the visiting troops especially on matters on environment,” Koech said in a press statement.
Security Agreement Threat
In 2021, the Kenyan Parliament named a number of British soldiers allegedly involved in the murder of 21 year-old Agnes Wanjieu and subsequent cover-up.The mother-of-one’s body was found dumped in a septic tank in 2012, two months after she was last seen alive in a Nanyuki hotel in the company of a British soldier.
A post-mortem examination later found she died as a result of stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
There was also evidence she had been beaten, although owing to the condition of her body it was unclear whether she had been sexually assaulted.
Details of the horrific 2012 murder only came to light 10 years later, following a report by The Times of London.
The newspaper alleged that a serving soldier had confessed the killing to colleagues after attacking the prostitute in a hotel room.
There were also claims that some troops mocked the brutal death on army internet forums.
The shocking details of the young woman’s murder, along with allegations of British Army involvement, caused outrage in Kenya and threatened to damage a security and defence arrangement between the two countries.
In April, the African country agreed to go forward with the Kenya–UK Defence Cooperation Agreement, but only if major changes to the contract were made.
No Diplomatic Immunity
In April last year, the British Army lost its right to diplomatic immunity against lawsuits in Kenya over a massive bushfire allegedly caused by UK soldiers.The newspaper reported that in the ensuing chaos of the inferno, Linus Murangiri, an employee of Lolldaiga conservancy, was crushed to death by a vehicle as he rushed to help put out the fire, leaving behind his wife and two sons.
The African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action (ACCPA) brought legal action against BATUK seeking compensation and reparations, alleging that the fire was “caused by agents of the British Army Training Unit Kenya who tested positive for cocaine.”
BATUK denied its soldiers caused the fire and claimed they were protected from prosecution by diplomatic immunity.
But in a landmark ruling, Kenyan High Court Judge Antonina Bore argued that the UK government waived diplomatic immunity to legal action by signing an agreement in 2015 governing the terms under which its soldiers would be allowed to operate in Kenya.
The judge ordered that ACCPA and the local people must now go through a dispute resolution process in a bid to agree terms with the UK government.
If an agreement cannot be reached the case will return to be tried in the Kenyan courts.
