Fresh scandal hits British military in Kenya as soldier faces rape allegation
The incident is said to have occurred in May near the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Nanyuki, a town situated roughly 200 kilometers north of Nairobi.
A British soldier is under investigation for allegedly raping a woman near a UK army training camp in Kenya, reigniting concerns over the conduct of foreign military personnel stationed in the East African country.
The incident is said to have occurred in May near the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Nanyuki, a town situated roughly 200 kilometers north of Nairobi. The alleged attack reportedly followed a night out involving several soldiers at a local bar.
Authorities confirmed that the accused service member was arrested and interrogated. The case is now being handled by the UK’s Defence Serious Crime Unit, a specialized military body tasked with probing criminal offences committed by British troops both domestically and abroad.
In response, the UK Ministry of Defence issued a statement acknowledging the arrest. “There is zero tolerance for criminal behavior in our Armed Forces. Serious allegations involving service personnel are always investigated independently,” the statement read.
This is not the first time the British presence in Kenya has come under scrutiny. The latest accusation comes more than a decade after the unresolved case of Agnes Wanjiru—a young Kenyan mother whose body was discovered in a septic tank near the same army base in 2012. British media reports, including an investigation by The Sunday Times in 2021, linked a UK soldier to her suspected murder, though no one has been prosecuted to date.
In addition to these high-profile incidents, BATUK has also faced broader allegations of misconduct over the years. A Kenyan parliamentary inquiry launched in 2023 uncovered claims of abuse by British troops, ranging from hit-and-run cases to reports of UK soldiers abandoning children fathered with local women.
Established in 1964, the BATUK facility is part of a longstanding defence agreement that allows the UK to deploy multiple battalions annually for training exercises in Kenya. While the partnership has been framed as mutually beneficial, these recurring controversies have cast a shadow over military relations between the two nations.
The UK government has pledged full cooperation with ongoing Kenyan investigations, but pressure is mounting from both local and international rights groups demanding justice and accountability.
