The National Assembly Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs has approved a proposal to launch an inquiry into the activities of the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) in Nanyuki, Laikipia County.
The committee proposed the inquiry following complaints raised about the past conduct of British soldiers in the county during consideration of the Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement last week.
Among the complaints raised by residents was the alleged murder of a Kenyan woman, Agnes Wanjiru, by a British soldier in Nanyuki in 2012, and Batuk activities that may have caused the fire that destroyed part of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch in 2021.
Committee chairperson Nelson Koech (Belgut) said the inquiry would provide an opportunity for aggrieved Kenyans to finally get justice, and help the committee ensure that Kenya can hold to account visiting troops who flout the law.
“You will recall that we even included among our recommendations that foreign soldiers who commit the offence of murder should be tried under Kenyan law, as well as the whole issue of corporate social responsibility for visiting troops, especially on environmental issues,” said Mr Koech.
Agnes’s family welcomed the move, saying the inquiry will help to bring them justice.
“We have been told that the committee will be visiting Nanyuki to hear our views and as the family of the deceased, we are pinning our hopes on the public inquiry, that we will get justice for our daughter who suffered untold hardship at the hands of the British soldier(s). We are hopeful that the inquiry will help get to the bottom of the matter,” said Mr Kairu Kamunge, the family spokesman.
“Let the leaders who sit in this committee know that we are waiting for them and that we will be watching them and I would like to ask the committee to ensure that all views are taken into consideration,” he added.
“The inquiry will open a window into the activities of the soldiers on Kenyan soil. We are wondering what benefit the surrounding community gets from the soldiers training on Kenyan soil. They used to come out of their camps to get services from us (sex workers), but they no longer come out of the camps. Even our youth don’t take advantage of the jobs they offer,” she said.
Earlier this year, the National Assembly and local leaders gave the green light for the troops to continue their training in parts of Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu counties. The previous DCA expired in October 2021, but the 12th Parliament failed to renew the five-year agreement after Laikipia leaders petitioned the National Assembly, demanding that some issues be addressed first.
Among the issues raised by the Laikipia County government was the unsolved murder of Agnes, whose body was recovered from a hotel septic tank two months after she was seen partying with the foreign soldiers. The main suspect in the murder has still not been repatriated to Kenya to face trial, despite promises from the British government to do so.
