A landmark public inquiry into allegations of human rights violations by British troops in Kenya has been hearing \u201cheartbreaking\u201d testimony from those who say they were mistreated.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people have this week given evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into the alleged misconduct of soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk).<\/p>\n
Among them are the family of a young woman allegedly disabled in a hit-and-run by a British Army truck, a mother who says she was abandoned when pregnant and a man who was mauled by a lion in the wake of fires allegedly started on an army training exercise.<\/p>\n
The Batuk base in Nanyuki, about 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, and was established in 1964 shortly after the East African nation gained independence from the UK.<\/p>\n
Kenya\u2019s Defence Minister Aden Duale has said that Kenya will seek prosecutions for any British soldier alleged to have broken the law during deployments over the decades.<\/p>\n
The UK High Commission in Kenya told the BBC it was aware of the proceedings and that it \u2013 and Batuk \u2013 intended to co-operate with the inquiry.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people have this week flocked to the four public hearings held near the Batuk base to listen to emotional accounts of alleged misconduct by British soldiers.<\/p>\n
Memusi Lochede testified that British officials promised to look after her 22-year-old daughter Chaula Memusi, who is in a wheelchair after allegedly being injured by a British army truck in a hit-and-run incident in January 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey sent a representative to tell me that they don\u2019t want a court case and that they would take care of my daughter,\u201d the 45-year-old mother told one of the hearings held outdoors under a marquee in Archers Post, where the British army conducts infantry exercises.<\/p>\n
Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya.<\/p>\n
Ms Lochede said they paid for her daughter\u2019s hospital bills for two years, but had failed to pay compensation as promised.<\/p>\n
Lino Lemaramba told the BBC he witnessed the accident and was shocked to see the British army truck drive away after the collision. He stopped to help Ms Memusi.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a Batuk truck, I tried to stop it but it kept moving,\u201d he alleged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a tragic scene, blood all over, her bones were crushed\u2026 people were afraid to touch her,\u201d he said, describing how difficult it was to lift her into his pick-up and take her to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n
BBC<\/p>\n
All I want is child support so that my child can go to school and have [a] better future\u201dGenerica Namoru<\/strong> Another emotional testimony at that hearing came from 28-year-old Generica Namoru, who was accompanied by her five-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n She told members of the inquiry, established by Kenya\u2019s parliamentary defence committee, that she became pregnant while she was in a consensual relationship with a British soldier stationed at Batuk.<\/p>\n When she informed him she was pregnant, he ended the relationship and left Kenya, leaving her to raise the child by herself. They kept in touch for a while and she told him about the birth of their daughter, but then all communication had stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I want is child support so that my child can go to school and have [a] better future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The hearings also heard evidence from a string of people who said they had suffered from serious health problems following a fire allegedly started by British soldiers during a training exercise being hosted at a wildlife sanctuary in 2021.<\/p>\n Some of the parliamentary defence committee\u2019s hearings were held outdoors<\/p>\n The blaze, said to have lasted for four days, destroyed more than 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares) of land and left at least one person dead.<\/p>\n Lipaso Legei, who was wearing a traditional Maasai outfit at the hearing, testified that he was lucky to be alive after being attacked by a lion that came closer to human settlements after the fire had destroyed its natural habitat.<\/p>\n \u201cI was mauled by a lion. Under these shuka [Maasai cloth] I have injuries on my back, I nearly died.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that farming had also become impossible: \u201cWe can\u2019t plant maize, animals keep invading, our dogs have been mauled by hyenas and leopards.\u201d<\/p>\n Several people said they had developed serious respiratory and eye problems. Simon Kaburu presented his medical records to the MPs and explained that he had to have medication to deal with \u201cchest problems after smoke inhalation\u201d.<\/p>\n More than 7,000 local people are believed to have started legal action\u00a0against the British army following the fire.<\/p>\n The inquiry has largely been prompted by the shocking case of Agnes Wanjiru.<\/p>\n Her body was found in a septic tank in 2012 after the 21-year-old had apparently been spotted with a group of British soldiers on a night out.<\/p>\n A 2019 inquest concluded that she was murdered by one or two British soldiers.<\/p>\n\n BBC<\/p>\n We want closure, we are demanding justice\u201dEsther Njoki<\/strong> The public inquiry this week heard further allegations that Batuk and the Kenyan authorities were involved in a cover-up of her death.<\/p>\n Ms Wanjiru\u2019s niece Esther Njoki told one of the hearings, at Nanyuki Social Hall on Tuesday, about the family\u2019s frustration over the delay in any prosecution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want closure, we are demanding justice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kenya\u2019s Directorate of Criminal Investigations has opened an inquiry into the death, but not charged anyone and Kenya has not asked for the extradition of suspects.<\/p>\n The UK has indicated it would not oppose any request for a suspect to be extradited.<\/p>\n MP Nelson Koech, chair of the defence committee, told the BBC some of the allegations were new and heartbreaking<\/p>\n MP Nelson Koech, chair of Kenya\u2019s parliamentary defence committee, told the BBC some of the allegations heard at the hearings were \u201cnew and heartbreaking\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has hit me that things have been happening here, whether they are true or not, we will see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The defence minister said in an TV interview this week that Kenya had benefited from the historic defence partnership with the UK and said more than 1,500 local people were employed at Batuk.<\/p>\n But Mr Duale said the current inquiry could lead to the government seeking closer engagement with the UK over issues raised, adding: \u201cAll criminal acts committed on our soil will be dealt in the host country, that is Kenya.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for the UK High Commission in Kenya said: \u201cWe are aware that Kenya\u2019s National Assembly Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee is conducting a parliamentary inquiry into the activities of Batuk in Kenya. The British High Commission in Nairobi and Batuk intend to cooperate with the inquiry.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK-Kenya defence partnership is one of the great strengths of our relationship and our joint training and operations with the Kenyan Defence Forces are keeping both Kenyan and British people safe.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A landmark public inquiry into allegations of human rights violations by British troops in Kenya has been hearing \u201cheartbreaking\u201d testimony from those who say they were mistreated. Dozens of people have this week given evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into the alleged misconduct of soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk). Among them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Witness at the Archers Post hearing<\/p>\n
Agnes Wanjiru\u2019s niece<\/p>\n