By Ebi Kesiena
A landmark public inquiry in Kenya is uncovering “heartbreaking” testimony of alleged human rights violations by British soldiers. This week, dozens have presented evidence to the parliamentary inquiry investigating misconduct by the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk).
The inquiry has been largely driven by the case of Agnes Wanjiru, whose body was discovered in a septic tank in 2012.
Wanjiru, a 21-year-old, had last been seen with a group of British soldiers. A 2019 inquest concluded that she had been murdered by one or two of these soldiers. This week, the inquiry also heard allegations of a cover-up by Batuk and Kenyan authorities regarding her death.
Testimonies include the family of a young woman allegedly disabled by a British Army truck in a hit-and-run, a mother abandoned during pregnancy, and a man mauled by a lion following fires allegedly started by army training exercises.
The Batuk base established in 1964 in Nanyuki, approximately 200km north of Nairobi, is central to these allegations.
Kenya’s Defence Minister Aden Duale has stated that Kenya will seek prosecutions for any British soldiers found to have broken the law during their deployments. The UK High Commission in Kenya has acknowledged the proceedings and expressed its and Batuk’s intention to cooperate fully with the inquiry.
Hundreds have gathered at four public hearings near the Batuk base to listen to emotional testimonies. Memusi Lochede recounted how British officials promised to care for her 22-year-old daughter, Chaula Memusi, who is now wheelchair-bound following a hit-and-run by a British army truck in January 2019.
“They sent a representative to tell me that they don’t want a court case and that they would take care of my daughter,” the 45-year-old mother testified at one of the hearings in Archers Post, where the British army conducts infantry exercises.
Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year conduct eight-week exercises in Kenya. Ms. Lochede mentioned that although the British paid for her daughter’s hospital bills for two years, they failed to provide the promised compensation.
Lino Lemaramba, who witnessed the accident, was appalled as the British army truck drove away after the collision. “It was a Batuk truck, I tried to stop it but it kept moving,” he alleged. “It was a tragic scene, blood all over, her bones were crushed… people were afraid to touch her,” he said, describing the difficulty in transporting Ms. Memusi to the hospital.
