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UK soldiers in a past training\/COURTESY<\/p>\nUK soldiers in a past training\/COURTESY<\/p>\n
\u200e<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom has defended its military relationship with Kenya while acknowledging concerns raised over the conduct of some British troops and the legal framework governing the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK).<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK Ministry of Defence said it \u201chighly values\u201d its defence relationship with Kenya, even as Nairobi continues to push for changes to the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and greater accountability over allegations involving British personnel.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe response comes amid renewed scrutiny over the future of the military partnership, following concerns raised by Kenyan lawmakers over jurisdiction, alleged misconduct, environmental issues and the handling of cases involving Kenyan citizens.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe issue recently escalated after the UK cancelled a planned September training exercise in Kenya after it was unable to secure the necessary permissions.<\/p>\n
The two sides have since moved to restore cooperation, with BATUK and the Kenya Defence Forces preparing for fresh joint training.<\/p>\n
\u200eIn its latest response, the UK said it had been working with Kenya to implement recommendations contained in the National Assembly Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee\u2019s inquiry into BATUK.<\/p>\n
\u200e\u201cSince the report by Kenya\u2019s National Assembly Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee\u2019s inquiry into conduct at the British Army Training Unit Kenya was published, the UK and Kenya have worked together to implement a number of the committee’s recommendations,\u201d the Ministry of Defence said.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK said joint operating procedures on unexploded ordnance had been finalised, while evidence packs relating to environmental and land-use compliance had been submitted.<\/p>\n
\u200eIt also said new measures had been introduced to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by British personnel.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe ministry said senior British officials met Kenyan government officials, parliamentarians and members of the committee in June to review progress and discuss corporate social responsibility programmes completed in Kenya.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK maintained that its personnel are required to comply with Kenyan laws and regulations.<\/p>\n
\u200e\u201cThe UK expects the highest standard of behaviour from our personnel. UK personnel in Kenya must abide by and respect the Kenyan Constitution, law and regulations at all times,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe ministry said it remained ready to investigate allegations falling within its jurisdiction while stressing that due process was necessary to protect the rights of Kenyans and local communities.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe question of jurisdiction has emerged as a key issue in negotiations over the defence agreement.<\/p>\n
Kenya\u2019s parliamentary committee has previously raised reservations about aspects of the pact, particularly accountability for alleged offences that may be committed by visiting personnel.<\/p>\n
Parliament has also insisted that its concerns be addressed before the agreement is fully operationalised.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK, however, said the 2021 DCA sets out how jurisdiction is determined in different circumstances in arrangements consistent with international practice.<\/p>\n
It said sexual offences fall under Kenyan jurisdiction unless they are alleged to have been committed solely against another member of the visiting force, civilian component or dependant.<\/p>\n
\u200eOn the long-running case involving Agnes Wanjiru, the UK said Kenya retains jurisdiction and that Britain has been supporting the investigation whenever requested.<\/p>\n
\u200e\u201cOur thoughts remain with the family of Agnes Wanjiru, and we remain absolutely committed to helping them secure justice,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK also said a British national sought by Kenyan authorities in connection with the investigation into an alleged 2012 murder was arrested by the National Crime Agency in November 2025.<\/p>\n
\u200eOn concerns over paternity and children alleged to have been fathered by British soldiers, the UK said it was working with the Kenyan Government to strengthen systems for addressing such cases.<\/p>\n
\u200eIt said soldiers deploying to Kenya must undergo additional training on unacceptable behaviour, including modules covering pregnancy and children.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe ministry said soldiers receive further briefings before and upon arrival in Kenya on appropriate conduct and the consequences of irresponsible behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe UK said it has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and abuse, with personnel found, through due process, to have breached the policy facing dismissal.<\/p>\n
\u200eDespite the disagreements, London said it remained committed to strengthening the \u201cdeep and enduring\u201d military partnership with Nairobi.<\/p>\n
\u200eThe latest development comes as Kenya and Britain seek to resolve differences over the defence agreement while maintaining military cooperation, including joint training and broader security collaboration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UK soldiers in a past training\/COURTESY \u200e The United Kingdom has defended its military relationship with Kenya while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[31],"tags":[9604,4882,80,351,4883,21217,352,98,100,36736,353,101,350,99,14372],"class_list":["post-368170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kenya","tag-deal","tag-defence","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-news","tag-military","tag-soldiers","tag-star","tag-star-news","tag-star-news-kenya","tag-star-newspaper","tag-star-newspaper-kenya","tag-the-star","tag-the-star-kenya","tag-the-star-newspaper","tag-uk"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117056381283036904","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}