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Britain’s military training presence in Kenya remains active, but accountability for alleged harm is contested. Kenya’s parliamentary inquiry recorded allegations involving sexual misconduct, civilian deaths and injuries, unexploded ordnance, environmental damage and compensation. The UK disputes or frames parts of that account differently, and says its forces operate under a defence agreement with Kenya. Neither the inquiry’s findings nor a charge in an individual case is, by itself, a criminal conviction or a court finding of liability.
What is BATUK, and why is it under scrutiny?
The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is a British Army unit that trains in Kenya. The UK says the training presence began under a 1964 defence agreement and operates on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. Training is linked to bilateral defence cooperation and areas used with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). In a February 2026 parliamentary answer, the UK said training and testing continued, including work with uncrewed systems.
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The scale figures describe different activities and come from different sources. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) scheduled five exercises in each of financial years 2025–26 and 2026–27, according to its answer to UK parliamentary question 113377 on 27 February 2026. It forecast about £56 million in exercise and BATUK maintenance expenditure for that financial year; that is a forecast, not final audited spending. Al Jazeera described BATUK as training about 10,000 soldiers a year in Laikipia and Samburu. Separately, the MoD says more than 1,100 KDF personnel benefit from UK training annually. These figures refer to distinct descriptions and should not be treated as competing counts of the same group.
The dispute is not only about whether particular allegations can be proved. It also concerns which country can investigate or hear a case, whether a soldier’s conduct was part of official duty, and whether the governing agreement permits a Kenyan claim to proceed.
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What Kenya’s parliamentary inquiry put on the record
In a National Assembly debate on 4 December 2025, the chair of the Defence Committee presented an inquiry into alleged ethical breaches, human-rights violations, safety and operational integrity. The committee said it had received submissions from affected civilians, community leaders, civil society groups and public agencies. Its account covered alleged sexual misconduct, abandoned children, unexploded ordnance linked to civilian injuries and deaths, environmental degradation and opaque compensation practices.
The committee criticized BATUK officials for not participating directly in its inquiry. The UK had submitted a written response in October 2025. The committee characterized BATUK as “increasingly seen as an occupying presence rather than a development partner”. That is the committee’s political assessment, not a neutral description accepted by both governments. The inquiry’s statements are parliamentary findings and recorded community accounts; they are not a set of individual criminal convictions or judicial determinations.
The allegations of sexual violence have a longer history. Al Jazeera reported in 2026 that Royal Military Police Operation Tasker had logged more than 2,000 allegations of rape and sexual violence by October 2004, covering the previous four decades. The count is allegations, not proven offences. The UK MoD said in 2006 that the investigation found no reliable evidence supporting any allegation. The two accounts differ sharply and should not be collapsed into a single conclusion.
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Immunity is not a blanket answer to every claim involving British personnel. The relevant questions include whether the matter is criminal or civil, which defence cooperation agreement applies, and, for some criminal cases, whether the alleged conduct arose in the course of official duty. The UK’s October 2025 submission says the 2015 agreement gives Kenya criminal jurisdiction over alleged offences by UK military personnel against Kenyan nationals, except when the alleged offence occurred in the course of official duty. It also says the agreement places specified offences, including sexual offences, automatically within Kenyan jurisdiction.
That account does not establish the result in every case. Whether conduct fell within official duty, which jurisdictional rule governs, and what evidence supports an allegation are distinct questions. A criminal prosecution seeks to determine guilt under the applicable law. A civil claim can seek compensation and has a different legal purpose and outcome.
| Pathway | What it addresses | What the available account establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal proceedings | Whether an accused person is guilty of an alleged offence, and which country may prosecute. | The UK describes the 2015 DCA’s rules on Kenyan jurisdiction, including the official-duty exception and specified offences. A charge or prosecution decision is not proof of guilt. |
| Civil proceedings | Claims for compensation or other civil remedies arising from alleged harm. | Al Jazeera reports that a Kenyan court allowed the Lolldaiga fire claims to proceed to the extent the UK had waived immunity under the DCA. The reported settlement did not admit liability. |
| Intergovernmental liaison | Communication and coordination between the governments. | The UK says the UK–Kenya Inter-Governmental Liaison Committee forms part of its oversight and engagement. That process is not the same as a criminal trial or civil judgment. |
Why the 2015 and 2021 agreements matter
The status of the replacement defence cooperation agreement (DCA) is contested. Kenya’s parliamentary record says the National Assembly approved the 2021 agreement in 2023 with reservations: adding murder to offences within host-state jurisdiction and adding corporate social responsibility. It says the agreement had not been ratified because the issues remained unresolved. The UK’s October 2025 submission says the 2015 DCA was extended by mutual consent while the parties discuss entry into force of the 2021 agreement. These are the respective governments’ and Parliament’s stated positions; the 2021 replacement should not be described as already in force on the basis of these accounts.
For a reader trying to understand an individual case, the distinction matters: the applicable agreement and the type of proceeding affect different parts of the legal question. The 2021 reservations also represent a broader political disagreement about how much jurisdiction Kenya should exercise and what responsibilities accompany the military presence.
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Agnes Wanjiru: a Kenyan prosecution and an extradition contest
The UK submission says Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions decided in September 2025 that a British national should face trial over Wanjiru’s unlawful killing, and says Kenya has jurisdiction because the alleged killing was outside official duties. Al Jazeera reported on 3 October 2026 that Robert James Purkiss, a former British soldier charged in the case, denied the charge and was contesting extradition in London. A charge and an extradition dispute do not establish guilt; that reported procedural status is as of the date of the report.
Tilam Leresh: the UK’s account of prosecutorial decisions
The UK MoD acknowledges that Leresh was fatally shot by an on-duty British soldier on the Archers Post Training Area in 2012. According to the MoD, the Service Prosecuting Authority declined to charge in December 2012 for insufficient evidence. After receiving a Kenyan chief magistrate’s written inquest ruling in March 2024, it reviewed the matter again and concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the killing was not lawful self-defence. This is the UK’s account of its prosecutorial decisions, not a finding that resolves every question raised by the case.
Unexploded ordnance: safety and clearance
The Kenyan committee described civilian injuries and fatalities, inadequate clearance practices and workers exposed to risks from unexploded ordnance. It called for stronger standards, a full accounting of ammunition, clearance within two weeks after exercises and published completion reports. These are the committee’s findings and recommendations; the record described here does not establish that every incident has been individually adjudicated.
Lolldaiga: a civil claim, ruling and settlement
Al Jazeera reports that a Kenyan Environment and Land Court judge rejected the UK’s sovereign-immunity objection to the extent that the DCA waived immunity, allowing the civil claim over the Lolldaiga fire to proceed. The report says a later confidential settlement paid £2.9 million to 7,723 claimants, without an admission of liability. A settlement resolves claims on its terms; it is not a court judgment establishing UK liability for the fire.
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Environmental claims, oversight and the UK response
The Kenyan committee discussed the Lolldaiga fire, alleged dumping of military waste and toxic materials, and community concerns about contamination and wildlife impacts. The UK’s written submission describes environmental audits and says they reported compliance. The committee’s concerns, the UK’s account of audits and the civil settlement are separate pieces of information; none alone establishes a conclusive scientific finding about contamination or a judicial finding of liability.
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The MoD also describes BATUK inspections, KDF access to routine planning and exercises, and the UK–Kenya Inter-Governmental Liaison Committee as parts of its oversight arrangements. Its submission says BATUK spends about £50 million a year locally, employs about 600 permanent Kenyan staff and hires up to 3,000 temporary Kenyan staff during exercise periods. These are UK government figures, not independently verified estimates here. The MoD said in its 22 October 2025 inquiry statement: “The UK MOD deeply regrets those issues and challenges which have arisen in relation to the UK’s defence presence in Kenya, both in the past and more recently.”
What the committee recommended
The committee proposed measures across criminal accountability, survivor support, safety and environmental oversight. Recommendations are not evidence that a measure has since been implemented.
- Adopt a visiting-force code of conduct, support survivors and enforce child-support obligations.
- Strengthen investigations and cooperation on extradition, and establish a task force on military-linked crimes.
- Provide legal aid and support for civil claims.
- Improve range safety and unexploded-ordnance clearance, account for ammunition and publish clearance completion reports.
- Account for land use and conduct environmental assessments and audits.
Al Jazeera quoted Kenyan investigator Gideon Kibunja, who led the investigation into Mantoi Lekoloi Kaunda’s death, saying: “The findings so far tend to agree with the claim by Mantoi’s sister that they were attacked by a British soldier.” That was an investigator’s assessment reported during an investigation, not a court verdict.
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What accountability means from here
There is no single immunity ruling or inquiry finding that resolves all allegations concerning BATUK. The Wanjiru case illustrates a criminal route in which Kenya asserts jurisdiction and the accused contests extradition; the Lolldaiga matter illustrates a civil route in which an immunity objection did not prevent a claim proceeding and was later settled without admission of liability. The committee’s proposals would require follow-through by relevant Kenyan and UK institutions, while the governments’ differing accounts of the DCA’s status leave a central jurisdictional issue unresolved in the records described here.
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