British soldiers training in Kenya have organized initiation ceremonies where young recruits are coerced into having unprotected sex with sex workers.
Around 10,000 British soldiers are deployed to Kenya every year for live-bullet exercises over eight weeks.
Upon their return a few months ago, nine soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) were interviewed to assess their understanding of sexual health issues and engaging with prostitutes, as part of a study published in the British Medical Journal Military Health.
The study, authored by British Defense Medical Services, reveals that despite a sexual health guide being distributed upon arrival in the East African country, the number of soldiers developing sex-related illnesses has increased compared to troops based in the United Kingdom.
The document notes a growing reliance on prostitutes near the British base in Nanyuki, about 200 km from Nairobi, stating that the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease from a sex worker can not only diminish the unit’s operational effectiveness but also presents a “global reputational risk.”
According to information published by the Mail on Sunday, a soldier, whose identity was not disclosed, reportedly told the Ministry of Defense: “When this unit deploys on exercise [to the British Army Training Unit Kenya], they have an initiation ceremony for all the new soldiers who haven’t deployed to Kenya before. The more senior soldiers would flip a coin – heads you could use a condom, tails you could not.”
In 2022, the British Ministry of Defense released a report listing the army’s strategies to raise awareness of the impact of sexual offenses and purchasing of sexual services, as well as available sources of assistance for those exposed within the defense community. “This policy supports Defense’s commitment to crack down on unacceptable sexual behavior and prohibits all sexual activity which involves the abuse of power, including buying sex whilst abroad.” the report reads.
Human Rights Violation
Last June, Kenya announced an investigation into allegations of murders, sexual abuse, and land degradation near the Nanyuki base committed by British soldiers from the same training unit. Following this announcement, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) stated it received 43 complaints regarding human rights violations — including murders and rapes — allegedly committed by the British Army Training Unit at Nanyuki.
In an oral presentation to the Parliament’s Defense and Foreign Relations Committee last month, the KNCHR stated that the alleged crimes, which also include mutilations and assaults, must be investigated, and the perpetrators held accountable.
Professor Marion Mutugi, who chaired the commission during the session, told legislators: “There is generally a lack of accountability and access to justice with no form of redress or adequate reparations being availed to the victims when British soldiers are involved.” However, the parliamentary committee, led by MP Nelson Koech, asserted that the legislature would undertake “more thorough investigations.” “We assure you that we are committed to handling this inquiry, in line with our mandate, particularly on foreign relations. We are keen on engaging all stakeholders to address these concerns and protect the interests of Kenyans,” he told KNCHR officials.
“This will have serious consequences for the defense cooperation agreement, because if we realize that there’s been a lot of activity that spits in the face of [the treaty], it gives us room to re-look at the agreement, and even to exit.”
The Agnes Wanjiru Case
Among the list of crimes involving British soldiers is the murder of Agnes Wanjiru in 2012, a 21-year-old Kenyan mother who had accompanied them to a party at a hotel in Nanyuki. Wanjiru’s body was found in a septic tank two months after she went missing.
In 2019, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) opened an investigation into this death, but the findings were not disclosed to the public. Despite years of legal proceedings, the Wanjiru case file remains nearly empty. Among the ten individuals accused, only two submitted the required documents to the court during the first hearing in November 2023. Consequently, the case has been adjourned to May 21st.
During King Charles’ visit to Nairobi last November, human rights defenders were prevented from holding demonstrations to demand apologies for crimes committed in Kenya by British troops.
In 1964, a year after Kenya’s independence, the two countries signed a defense agreement allowing up to six British infantry battalions to conduct two eight-week exercises annually in Kenya. This agreement was amended to become annual. The treaty between Kenya and the UK was renewed in July 2021 but was only ratified last April due to a wave of objections from communities living near the military base.
In a statement, a British Army spokesperson said: “We take all allegations made against U.K. service personnel seriously, and they are investigated swiftly by the service authorities or the host nation authorities with appropriate support from the armed forces.”
Britain allocates nearly 1.2 billion Kenyan shillings (6.5 million pounds sterling) annually to its defense partnership with Kenya and supports counter-terrorism training. The same spokesperson estimates that BATUK’s presence has contributed 5.8 billion shillings to the local economy since 2016.
