UK soldiers who break Kenyan law should be tried locally, say MPs
The British Army Training Unit Training in Kenya -BATUK at Lolldaiga training area in Laikipia County on November 14, 2022.
Lawmakers now want British soldiers training in Kenya under the Defence Cooperation Agreement between Kenya, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland who commit murder to be tried locally.
Although a committee report tabled in the House yesterday afternoon called for the ratification of the agreement, it pointed out that Article 6 (5) of the cooperation agreement should be amended to include murder as one of the offences under the jurisdiction of the host nation.
Article 6 of the agreement subjects the visiting forces to the laws of the host nation. It, however, grants authorities of the visiting forces primary jurisdiction to try offences arising out of official duty.
“The committee noted that Article 6(5) provides for various offences which cannot be considered as arising out of official duty and are therefore triable by the host nation. However, murder was not considered as one of the offences, thus allowing cases similar to Agnes Wanjiru’s to occur in the future,” reads the report.
Ms Wanjiru was murdered by a British soldier in an entertainment joint in Nanyuki 21 years ago.
In 2021, then Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti told MPs that Ms Wanjiru had a good time with the British soldier and they were seen dancing at the bar that fateful night.
Ms Wanjiru and the soldier, who was in uniform, were later seen heading towards the guest rooms.
Read: Lolldaiga fire: Lawyers for UK soldiers urge court to throw out case, claim sovereign immunity
Documents tabled in Parliament by the DCI indicate that part of Ms Wanjiru’s body was found submerged in a septic tank, with the legs floating on the sewage.
The body was found by Mr John Gichuki, who worked at the hotel as a gardener.
The body was dressed only in a bra, with a packet of condoms tucked inside the bra.
Respect traditions
The House team also indicted the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) for failing to adhere to Kenya’s laws and obligations under international law with respect to the preservation of the environment, pursuant to Article 8 of the agreement.
MPs also want Article 23 of the agreement, which obligates visiting forces to respect the traditions and culture of local communities, to be amended to include corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The Defence and Defence Relations Committee in its report said Kenya stands to benefit from the cooperation agreement due to the UK’s advanced defence capabilities, size and nature of its economy, geo-political position and its large coastline.
The committee further pointed out that the ratification of the agreement would enhance intelligence sharing to tackle security challenges.
Every year, more than 1,100 Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers are trained by the British military either on UK-based courses or by UK military training teams in Kenya.
Much of the training is to help prepare KDF soldiers before deployment to Somalia and other parts of Africa.
The UK has training exercises on counter-IED, people and vehicle searching and some infantry tactics. They also have the UK infrastructure projects at KDF’s school of infantry which includes an urban village, a Forward Operating Base (FOB) and an assault course which prepares KDF for deployment to Somalia.
Former Defence CS Monica Juma had submitted a copy of the agreement to parliament for consideration and approval with or without reservations in accordance with section 8 (4) of the treaty and ratification Act of 2012
However, while the 12th parliament was considering the agreement, Laikipia County where the BATUK is based submitted a memorandum raising concerns about the Defence Cooperation agreement between the two countries.
In its memorandum, Laikipia County stated that BATUK has committed several atrocities against Kenyans and the environment hence the agreement should not be renewed.
The county cited the Lolldaiga Hills conservancy fire incident, the murder of Agnes Wanjiru by BATUK soldiers, and the blast injury of a 10-year-old Lisoka Lesauyan as among the reasons the agreement should not be renewed.
The 12th Parliament prepared a draft report, however, it was not tabled in the House for consideration
However, the committee in its report while acknowledging the issues raised by the Laikipia County government terming them weighty, said they are being addressed by relevant government agencies in conjunction with BATUK
Current Defence CS Aden Duale re-submitted the agreement to parliament in November last year for consideration.
The agreement between Kenya and the UK government and Northern Ireland was signed on July 27, 2021, to replace the previous one which was signed in 2015, however, parliament went sine-die recess before the ratification of the new agreement.
