KENYA –  The army is to launch an inquiry into the behaviour of British troops posted to a military base in Kenya, after multiple allegations of serious abuses committed by soldiers, including rape and murder.

The inquiry is to examine the conduct of military personnel posted to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK). It is where the soldier alleged to have murdered a Kenyan woman, Agnes Wanjiru, was posted at the time of her death in 2012.  An ITV Exposure documentary, airing on Sunday, returned to Nanyuki, close to the base, and found that allegations of abuse were still emerging. British soldiers were alleged to have regularly paid for sex with local women, and to have raped multiple women as well as girls as young as 13.

An MoD spokesperson said: “The defence secretary has discussed with the chief of the general staff these alarming allegations of unacceptable behaviour by service personnel deployed to Kenya. “We take these allegations extremely seriously and the army will launch an inquiry into the conduct of those who have been deployed to Kenya.”

Since 2022, Wanjiru’s sister, Rose, and her lawyers Leigh Day have been urging the MOD to properly investigate her death.  Reacting to news of the inquiry, Wanjiru’s niece, Esther Njoki, said: “All we want as a family is closure, but we will not get this without answers and without steps being taken to make sure what happened to Agnes never happens again.

“The UK Ministry of Defence has repeatedly promised us and assured us that steps are being taken to investigate but we are tired of assurance without actions. We want to see action now – action to properly investigate what led to us losing Agnes and us still not having answers more than 12 years on.” The previous government prohibited British troops from paying for sex overseas and warned they could face dismissal if they contravened the ban. However, the allegations from ITV suggest it is being consistently flouted. The ban followed a Sunday Times investigation into the death of Wanjiru, a young woman who lived in poverty and sometimes sold sex to help provide for her daughter. She lived in Nanyuki, where soldiers would socialise in their downtime, drinking heavily and paying local women as little as £1 for sex. (The Guardian)…[+]