Britain’s military training presence in Kenya is active, but accountability for alleged harms remains contested. Kenya’s parliamentary Defence Committee has recorded claims involving sexual misconduct, civilian deaths and injuries, unexploded ordnance, environmental damage and compensation. Those findings are not criminal convictions. The central legal question is not whether British personnel have blanket immunity: it is which agreement applies, what kind of claim is being made and, in criminal cases, whether the alleged conduct arose in the course of official duty.
As of 3 October 2026, Kenya’s prosecution of former British soldier Robert James Purkiss over Agnes Wanjiru’s killing was still at the charge-and-extradition stage, while a separate civil claim over the Lolldaiga fire had reportedly settled without an admission of liability. The two cases show distinct routes to accountability—and their limits.
What is BATUK, and why is it disputed?
The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is a British Army unit operating on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence. The UK says the British Army’s training presence in Kenya began under a 1964 defence agreement. BATUK works with the Kenya Defence Forces and uses training areas in Kenya. In a February 2026 answer to a UK parliamentary question, the Ministry of Defence said training and testing continued, including work involving uncrewed systems.
The dispute is about more than military training. Kenyan communities and institutions have raised concerns about alleged misconduct, deaths and injuries, unexploded ammunition, environmental effects, compensation and the ability of Kenyan authorities to investigate or hear claims. The UK government describes oversight, investigations and environmental audits of its own. Those accounts need to be kept distinct: a parliamentary inquiry, a government submission, a prosecution decision and a court ruling do not establish the same thing.
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What did Kenya’s parliamentary inquiry put on record?
In a debate on 4 December 2025, the National Assembly considered its Defence Committee’s inquiry into alleged ethical breaches, human-rights violations, safety and operational integrity relating to BATUK. 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, civilian harm linked to unexploded ordnance, environmental degradation and opaque compensation practices.
The committee criticized BATUK officials’ lack of direct participation in its inquiry. The UK Ministry of Defence had submitted a written response in October 2025. The committee’s chair presented its conclusion that “BATUK is increasingly seen as an occupying presence rather than a development partner”. That is the committee’s political characterization, not a neutral description accepted by both governments or a judicial finding.
The committee also raised concern about the handling of unexploded ordnance, describing civilian injuries and fatalities, inadequate clearance practices and workers exposed to risk. Its recommendations included accounting for ammunition, stronger range-safety procedures, clearance within two weeks after exercises and published completion reports. These are recommendations recorded in Parliament; they do not establish that every cited incident has been independently adjudicated.
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What do immunity and jurisdiction mean under the agreements?
Immunity does not automatically rule out every Kenyan claim. The relevant questions include whether proceedings are criminal or civil, what the applicable Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) provides, and—in some criminal cases—whether the alleged offence was committed in the course of official duty. The UK Ministry of Defence’s account of the 2015 DCA says Kenya has jurisdiction over criminal offences allegedly committed by UK military personnel against Kenyan nationals, except where the alleged offence occurred in the course of official duty. It says the agreement also identifies offences, including sexual offences, for which Kenya automatically holds jurisdiction.
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Civil claims follow a different route. Al Jazeera’s account of the Lolldaiga case says Article 11 of the DCA assigns Kenya jurisdiction over civil claims arising in its territory and provides for compensation in qualifying circumstances. In that litigation, a Kenyan judge reportedly rejected the UK’s sovereign-immunity objection to the extent that the DCA waived immunity, allowing the claim to proceed. That ruling did not eliminate immunity for all personnel or all claims.
| Question | What the available account says | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal proceedings | The UK says the 2015 DCA gives Kenya jurisdiction over specified allegations against UK personnel, with official-duty status relevant to some offences and automatic host-state jurisdiction for specified offences. | It does not determine guilt in any individual case. |
| Civil proceedings | Al Jazeera reports that the Lolldaiga court treated the DCA as a waiver of immunity to the extent stipulated in the agreement. | That ruling is not a universal waiver covering every civil claim. |
| Which DCA is in force? | The UK says the 2015 DCA was extended by mutual consent while the two governments discuss the 2021 replacement. Kenya’s parliamentary record says the replacement had not been ratified. | The competing accounts do not support describing the 2021 DCA as already in force. |
| Intergovernmental liaison | The UK describes a UK–Kenya Inter-Governmental Liaison Committee as part of its oversight arrangements. | A liaison process is not itself a criminal trial or a court ruling on civil liability. |
Why the 2021 agreement remains contested
Kenya’s parliamentary record says the National Assembly approved the 2021 replacement agreement in 2023 with reservations: adding murder to offences within host-state jurisdiction and adding corporate social responsibility. It says ratification remained incomplete because those issues were unresolved. In its October 2025 submission, the UK said the 2015 agreement had been extended by mutual consent pending the 2021 agreement’s entry into force. The status is therefore both a legal and political point of disagreement, not a settled transition to the replacement text.
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What has happened in the named cases?
Agnes Wanjiru
Agnes Wanjiru’s case is a prominent example of Kenya asserting criminal jurisdiction. The UK submission says Kenya has jurisdiction because the alleged killing was outside official duties, and that the Kenyan Director of Public Prosecutions decided in September 2025 that a British national should face trial over her unlawful killing. 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 contest are procedural steps, not proof of guilt; that is the reported status as of that date.
Tilam Leresh
The UK Ministry of Defence says Tilam Leresh was fatally shot by an on-duty British soldier at the Archers Post Training Area in 2012. According to the Ministry, the Service Prosecuting Authority declined to charge in December 2012 for insufficient evidence. After receiving the 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 describes the UK’s prosecutorial decisions, not a finding that resolves every question raised by the case.
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Al Jazeera reported in 2026 that Kenyan investigator Gideon Kibunja, who led the investigation into Mantoi Lekoloi Kaunda’s death, said: “The findings so far tend to agree with the claim by Mantoi’s sister that they were attacked by a British soldier.” This is an investigator’s assessment during an investigation, not a court verdict.
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What do the allegations and reported figures show?
The scale of some allegations is striking, but counts of allegations must not be mistaken for proven offences. 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 preceding four decades. The UK Ministry of Defence said in 2006 that the investigation found no reliable evidence supporting any allegation. The two statements represent sharply different accounts of a historical record; the allegation count is not a count of convictions or established incidents.
The figures used to describe BATUK’s current activity and local economic role also have different sources and denominators:
| Figure | Source and context |
|---|---|
| Five exercises in each of FY2025–26 and FY2026–27 | UK Ministry of Defence answer to parliamentary question 113377, figures scheduled as of 27 February 2026. |
| Approximately £56 million | UK Ministry of Defence forecast for exercises and BATUK maintenance in the financial year covered by its 2026 answer; this is not a final audited spend. |
| About 10,000 soldiers a year | Al Jazeera’s 2026 description of BATUK training activity in Laikipia and Samburu. |
| More than 1,100 Kenya Defence Forces personnel annually | Separate UK Ministry of Defence submission figure for KDF personnel benefiting from UK training; it is not the same population as the soldiers in Al Jazeera’s BATUK activity estimate. |
| £50 million a year; about 600 permanent Kenyan staff; up to 3,000 temporary staff during exercise periods | UK Ministry of Defence figures from 2025 describing BATUK’s local spending and employment. They are government-reported figures, not independently verified estimates here. |
What is known about the Lolldaiga fire and compensation?
The committee discussed the Lolldaiga fire alongside allegations of military-waste dumping, toxic materials and community concerns about contamination and wildlife impacts. The UK’s written statement points to environmental audits and says they reported compliance. These positions do not amount to a conclusive scientific determination of contamination.
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Al Jazeera reported that the Lolldaiga civil claims settled for £2.9 million to 7,723 claimants, confidentially and without an admission of liability. The reported settlement resolved those claims; it was not a judgment that established UK liability for the fire.
What accountability measures did the committee recommend?
The committee’s recommendations address different points in the accountability chain, from preventing harm to supporting people who bring claims:
- Conduct and oversight: adopt a visiting-force code of conduct and establish a military-linked crimes task force.
- Survivors and families: provide survivor support and enforce child-support obligations.
- Investigations: improve cooperation on investigations and extradition.
- Access to justice: provide legal aid and support for civil claims.
- Training-area safety: strengthen range-safety standards, account for ammunition and improve unexploded-ordnance clearance procedures.
- Land and environment: account for land use, and conduct environmental assessments and audits.
The recommendations are proposals recorded in the parliamentary debate, not evidence that the measures have since been implemented. In its own account, the UK says BATUK is subject to inspections, that the Kenya Defence Forces have access to routine planning and exercises, and that environmental audits reported compliance. It also cites the liaison committee and community benefits. Those statements describe the Ministry’s view of its oversight arrangements; they do not independently verify the committee’s allegations or demonstrate implementation of the committee’s proposals.
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