How British Soldiers Flout Rules of Engagement in Kenya

Evidence has shown that the British Ministry of Defence has been violating human rights and flouting military pacts signed with various nations.

The revelation that a young woman was murdered and her body thrown in a septic tank by a British soldier in 2012 adds to the long list of atrocities allegedly committed by soldiers, particularly those attached to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) in Samburu and Nanyuki.

The soldiers have in the past been accused of carelessly leaving unexploded ordinances in the unfenced fields of Samburu, killing and maiming herders and their livestock. They have also been accused of rape, murder, assault and environmental crimes.

Rights groups working around the areas where Batuk units train, have for years raised concerns about human rights violations.

The British government have twice been compelled to pay 1,300 people who were seriously injured or killed by exploding bombs. The payments was done in 2003 and 2004 after a British law firm, Leigh Day, negotiated the settlements.

While the rules of engagement have been similar to those in previous Defence Cooperation Agreements (DCAs), the rate of prosecution of UK soldiers in Kenya remains very low.

In the Wanjiku case, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said the UK would cooperate with investigators, writes Stella Cherono for The Nation.