Kenya: British Army faces complaints of murder and rape, immunity in question

An investigation published on October 3, 2026, by Al Jazeera documents decades of complaints regarding murders, rapes, and fatal accidents involving British soldiers stationed in Kenya, and describes the legal obstacle of immunity that prevents Kenyan families from obtaining redress.

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) was established in 1964, a few months after independence. According to Al Jazeera, it trains approximately 10,000 soldiers per year in the counties of Laikipia and Samburu.

Cases opened, then closed

The most well-known case is that of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, a mother of one, who was last seen in 2012 at a Nanyuki hotel in the company of British soldiers. Her body was found two months later in a septic tank. A Kenyan judicial inquest concluded in 2019 that it was an unlawful killing. In 2025, British national Robert James Purkiss was charged with murder; he is contesting his extradition before a London court and remains presumed innocent.

The investigation also recalls Operation Tasker, opened in March 2003 by the Royal Military Police after more than 2,000 women reported rapes spanning four decades. In 2006, the British Ministry of Defence announced it had found "no credible evidence." No prosecutions followed.

Immunity at the heart of the dispute

The 2015 Defence Cooperation Agreement recognizes the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts over offenses committed by British personnel, except when they fall under "official duties." The text excludes sexual offenses, torture, slavery, and theft from this category, but not murder. An agreement signed in 2021 was conditionally approved by the Kenyan Parliament in 2023, which demanded the inclusion of murder: London refused, and ratification remains in limbo.

In 2025, the Kenyan Parliament's Defence Committee published a 94-page report. BATUK refused to appear, citing its immunity, a refusal that lawmakers described as contemptuous.

A breach opened by a fire

In March 2022, in the Lolldaiga fire case, Judge Antonina Kossy Bor ruled that the United Kingdom had waived its immunity regarding civil claims. In August 2025, London agreed to pay 2.9 million pounds to 7,723 claimants, approximately 375 pounds each, without admitting liability.

When questioned by Al Jazeera, the British Ministry of Defence asserted that BATUK cooperates fully with local authorities and denied any collusion. Kenyan lawyer Kelvin Mugambi Kubai, grandson of Mau Mau Field Marshal Musa Mwariama, is preparing four new legal proceedings. The fate of the 2021 agreement will determine whether a soldier accused of murder can one day be tried in Kenya.