Kenya’s parliament has accused British soldiers based in the country of decades of sexual violence, unlawful killings, human rights abuses and environmental damage, and called for the defence pact with the United Kingdom to be overhauled.
In a 94-page report released after a two-year inquiry, the National Assembly’s Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations said the conduct of the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) had fuelled anger and mistrust among communities living near its training ranges in Laikipia and Samburu counties.
The committee said it had received extensive oral and written testimony from civilians, victims and their families, community leaders, civil society groups and state agencies alleging persistent ethical breaches, human rights violations, labour disputes and environmental negligence linked to Batuk’s activities.
The report said residents described killings, assaults and serious injuries, including drunken brawls and fatal road accidents involving British personnel. Batuk, it noted, was now “increasingly seen as an occupying presence rather than a development partner”, with some witnesses drawing parallels to colonial-era abuses.
One of the most high-profile cases highlighted was the 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a young Kenyan woman whose body was discovered in a hotel septic tank in the garrison town of Nanyuki nearly three months after she was last seen with British soldiers.
MPs said the quest for justice in Wanjiru’s case had been “slow and fraught with frustration”, alleging that the investigation had faced interference and obstruction attributed to Batuk personnel. A former British soldier accused of her killing was arrested in the UK last month on an extradition warrant and is fighting efforts to send him to Kenya. He denies the charge.
The committee also cited the 2012 shooting of herder Tilam Leresh, which it described as an “unlawful killing” allegedly carried out by a Batuk sergeant. While the UK government has previously expressed regret over the incident, British prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges, and no one has been prosecuted in either country.
Beyond individual cases, the report pointed to what it called “disturbing patterns” of sexual misconduct by British troops over many years. MPs said survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence reported that cases were routinely dropped or mishandled by Kenyan authorities, leaving “many victims denied access to justice”.
The committee said it had received “compelling evidence” of widespread sexual violence by Batuk personnel, particularly targeting women from the Samburu and Maasai communities, including attacks while they were collecting firewood or water or tending livestock. It recalled testimony about a 1997 incident in Archer’s Post in which around 30 women were allegedly gang-raped at knifepoint, some inside their homes.
In addition to rape and assault, witnesses told MPs of soldiers behaving indecently in public spaces, exposing themselves in bars and town centres, often while intoxicated, and sometimes acting violently or in a sexually aggressive manner.
The report also documented the long-term social impact of those encounters, noting the presence of “fatherless” children believed to have been conceived with British soldiers who later returned home. Dozens of such children, it said, had been left with single mothers facing stigma and financial hardship, with no support from the fathers.
On the environmental front, the committee alleged that Batuk had failed to carry out mandatory environmental and social impact assessments for its exercises and raised concerns about the reported use of white phosphorus, which it described as notorious for causing severe burns and respiratory injuries.
Residents spoke of miscarriages, breathing problems, sick or dead livestock and contamination from unexploded ordnance and military waste. In one case, a ranger was said to have died after taking home an unexploded device from a training area, while a child reportedly lost both arms and an eye after encountering another.
Batuk, in submissions to the committee, said it had “zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse” and stressed that it took any such allegations seriously. It also said independent environmental audits had shown high levels of compliance with Kenyan regulations.
The UK Ministry of Defence told MPs it had responded to the issues raised during the inquiry and outlined steps taken to address concerns. The UK High Commission in Nairobi said it regretted that its input was not reflected in the report’s conclusions and reiterated that it stood ready to fully investigate any allegations “under our jurisdiction” once evidence was provided.
“We deeply regret the challenges which have arisen in relation to our defence presence in Kenya,” the High Commission said, adding that British authorities were prepared to look into new allegations contained in the parliamentary report.
However, the committee accused Batuk of “persistently” refusing to appear in person before MPs and of repeatedly invoking diplomatic immunity to avoid direct scrutiny.
Lawmakers concluded that the existing defence cooperation agreement between Kenya and the UK was “structurally flawed”, arguing that it contained significant loopholes that hindered accountability. They noted that murder, despite its gravity, was not explicitly listed in the agreement as an offence outside the scope of official duty, creating what they called a “significant obstacle to justice”.
The report recommended renegotiating the military agreement to introduce a binding code of conduct for visiting forces, explicit zero-tolerance provisions on gender-based violence, stronger environmental obligations and robust civilian oversight.
The committee also urged Kenya’s defence ministry to agree new mechanisms with the UK to ensure that Batuk personnel can be held responsible for child support in cases where they father children during their deployment.