A landmark public inquiry into allegations of human rights violations by British troops in Kenya has been hearing “heartbreaking” testimony from those who claim they were mistreated.
This week, dozens of individuals have presented evidence to the parliamentary inquiry regarding the alleged misconduct of soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk). Among the testimonies are the family of a young woman allegedly disabled in a hit-and-run by a British Army truck, a mother who says she was abandoned while pregnant, and a man who was mauled by a lion following fires allegedly started during an army training exercise.
The Batuk base in Nanyuki, approximately 200km (125 miles) north of Nairobi, was established in 1964, shortly after Kenya gained independence from the UK.
Kenya’s Defence Minister Aden Duale has stated that Kenya will seek prosecutions for any British soldier alleged to have broken the law during their deployments over the decades.
The UK High Commission in Kenya told the BBC that it, along with Batuk, intends to cooperate with the inquiry.
Hundreds of people have flocked to the four public hearings held near the Batuk base to listen to emotional accounts of alleged misconduct by British soldiers.
Memusi Lochede testified that British officials promised to care for her 22-year-old daughter, Chaula Memusi, who is now in a wheelchair after allegedly being injured by a British army truck in a hit-and-run incident in January 2019.
“They sent a representative to tell me that they don’t want a court case and that they would take care of my daughter,” the 45-year-old mother told one of the hearings held outdoors under a marquee in Archers Post, where the British army conducts infantry exercises.
Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya.