UK moves BATUK training to Tanzania after Kenya 'delays' to renew licenses

BATUK soldiers during a thanksgiving service for Queen Elizabeth Windsor II conducted by Reverend Anthony Thompson in Nanyuki on September 19, 2022.[File, Standard]

The UK government has announced plans to relocate a planned military training exercise from Kenya after the government failed to approve the renewal of licenses for the British Army Training Unit (BATUK).

Through the Ministry of Defence, the UK announced that the activity dubbed 'Exercise Haraka Storm', scheduled to run in Laikipia between September and November, will instead take place at an alternative location in neighbouring Tanzania.

“It is with regret that the necessary licences required to allow training to take place in Laikipia later this year have not been forthcoming. As a result, the planned training will now be conducted at an alternative location outside Kenya,” said a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesperson in a statement.

The ministry said all UK military training in Kenya depends on permission from the Kenyan government.

“The UK highly values its relationship with Kenya, which is underpinned by mutual benefit, respect and cooperation. The UK-Kenya Defence Partnership is one of the great strengths of our relationship. Our joint training and operations with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are keeping both Kenyan and British people safe,” the statement reads further.

The cancellation of deployments is likely to directly affect local businesses.

 Nanyuki and surrounding towns rely heavily on the £58 million (approx. Sh10 billion) that British military activities inject into the economy annually, meaning a significant short-term loss of income for local landlords, traders, and casual laborers.

The move is also likely to impact on community outreach activities meaning that residents in remote parts of Laikipia may lose medical clinics, educational projects, among other activities funded and supported by the British military.

The withdrawal and licensing delays coincide with ongoing parliamentary inquiries into allegations of sexual violence, negligent handling of explosives, and unresolved disputes involving civilian property damage, such as the 2021 Lolldiaga Hills ranch fires.

 The relocation follows months of tension over the proposed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA), which governs the operations of BATUK.

The Defense Cooperation between Kenya and the UK government was signed in July 2021, replacing the previous Defence Cooperation agreement signed in 2015, and which expired in October 2021.

However, Kenyan MPs delayed ratification of the agreement over concerns that British troops accused of offences while on official duty had jurisdictional immunity whereby they can only be tried within UK jurisdiction and not in Kenyan courts.

Lawmakers and human rights groups have been pushing to have subsequent agreements aligned with Kenya's Constitution by allowing British troops to face trial in Kenyan courts for offences committed on Kenyan soil.

The new development of relocating training activity from Kenya comes months after the parliamentary Departmental Committee on Defense, Intelligence and Foreign Relations issued a raft of recommendations to be implemented.

The recommendations were issued following and inquiry conducted by the MPs into the alleged unethical, illegal, and harmful conduct of the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Kenya.

The parliamentary inquiry examined allegations of sexual misconduct, environmental pollution, toxic waste dumping and injuries or deaths linked to unexploded military ordnance in BATUK training areas.

The inquiry was conducted following mounting concerns raised during the Committee's consideration of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Kenya and the UK.

The committee concluded the findings pointed to what it described as a system of impunity.

Following findings of grave violations of human rights and environmental damage, the MPs made a raft of recommendations before consideration and subsequent approval of the Agreement between Kenya and the UK.

Among the recommendations issued by the MPs include initiation of mechanisms to hold BATUK soldiers accountable for child support to children born out of consensual relations including DNA testing and psychological support for children fathered by BATUK soldiers.

The MPs also recommended amendments to the Defense Forces Act to incorporate a visiting Forces Code of Conduct, provisions on zero tolerance for SGBV with survivor support and child support enforcement, environmental obligations, social responsibility and civilian oversight mechanisms.

They also called for extradition proceedings of Robert James Purkiss, a BATUK soldier who is the suspect in the Agnes Wanjiru murder case. There has also been pressure from Kenyans, human rights groups and lawmakers over the unresolved 2012 murder of Wanjiru, who was allegedly killed by a Brits soldier.

Her body was found in a septic tank near the British military base in Nanyuki after she was last seen with British soldiers. That particular case fueled calls for justice for families that have suffered atrocities by the British soldiers while also pushing for accountability.

Before considering the DCA, the MPs also wanted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate the alleged cases of murder of Kenyan citizens by BATUK soldiers reported by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Negotiations with the K was also required to implement restorative justice measures, including compensation and psychosocial support for historical victims of sexual offences perpetrated by BATUK.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations was to investigate the alleged cases of sexual offences by BATUK soldiers, including historical cases documented in the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

The National Assembly also recommended that the National Legal Aid Service establish a Survivor Liaison Unit in Isiolo, Laikipia and Samburu counties, where most of BATUK activities are carried out, to offer legal aid to victims of offences and other civil claims linked to BATUK personnel.

They also wanted the National Legal Aid Service to take measures to assist victims in the settlement of civil claims, including cases of injuries sustained and loss suffered as a result of BATUK operations or activities reported by the KNCHR.

The other recommendation establishing of a Military-Linked Crimes Taskforce to oversee evidence preservation, case tracking, and expedited investigation and prosecution of offences committed by foreign military personnel.

In the report, the National Land Commission was tasked to prepare a Land Use Register of all parcels utilised by BATUK, indicating tenure, legal basis, duration, and community compensation arrangements, and to table to the National Assembly an audit of historical and current BATUK land-use agreements with recommendations for regularization.

MPs raised concerns over environmental damage caused in the training zones and wildlife displacement. As a result, they recommended that the National Environmental Management Authority direct BATUK to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment on its training grounds.

The committee reported that about 1200 acres of land at Lolldaiga conservancy in Laikipia county destroyed by fire caused as a result of military exercises in the area.

To ascertain the extent of wildlife displacement, they recommended that Kenya Wildlife Service prepare a wildlife displacement and damage report for areas affected by BATUK training,

Following numerous cases of damage and injuries caused by explosives, the MPs directed that the Ministry of Defence, jointly with BATUK, to operationalize a written Range Safety and Ordnance Clearance Standard Operating Procedure, calling for total accounting of expended munitions, UXO clearance, publication of clearance completion reports with local authorities, and adoption of multi-agency emergency response plans supporting nearby health facilities and first responders.

Earlier this month, victims' families and human rights activists petitioned the Kenyan government to end BATUK's presence unless the UK agreed to independent investigations, compensation for affected communities and child support for children allegedly fathered and abandoned by British soldiers.

The British military has also faced new restrictions on where it can conduct exercises. The KDF directed BATUK to stop using private land and conservancies in Laikipia for military training, reducing the area available for large-scale live-fire exercises.

“We recognise the disappointment this decision will cause for those who would have benefited from the economic activity generated by the exercise. All UK training activity in Kenya is dependent on the permission from the Government of Kenya.

“We remain committed to our defense partnership with Kenya and will continue to engage closely with the Kenyan Government to support the resumption of training in-country at the earliest appropriate opportunity,” the MOD spokesperson said.