A British soldier accused of raping a woman near the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) last month has been returned to the United Kingdom for questioning, the Ministry of Defence said.
UK Defence Serious Crime Unit investigators arrested the serviceman after the alleged assault, which took place following a night out in Nanyuki, 200 km north of Nairobi. Military police are leading the probe and have notified Kenyan authorities.
“Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has no place in our armed forces,” the MoD stated, stressing that serious-crime cases are handled independently of the soldier’s chain of command.
The incident comes amid renewed scrutiny of BATUK, where a British soldier is suspected of murdering Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru in 2012. UK officials say they are cooperating with Nairobi’s investigation into her death.
Established in 1964, BATUK hosts up to six British battalions annually. A Kenyan parliamentary inquiry has heard allegations ranging from hit-and-run crashes to soldiers fathering—and abandoning—local children.