NANYUKI, Kenya — A British soldier stands accused of raping a woman last month near a British Army training camp in Kenya, an incident that comes as another soldier has previously faced murder allegations in the same vicinity.
The alleged rape occurred close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) facility, situated near the town of Nanyuki, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi.
The male soldier was arrested and questioned following the alleged incident, which reportedly took place after a group of soldiers visited a local bar in Nanyuki.
An investigation into the matter is being conducted by the UK’s Defence Serious Crime Unit, an independent body responsible for examining crimes allegedly committed by British service personnel both domestically and overseas.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the arrest of a “service person” in Kenya via an official statement.
“Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces and any reporting of a serious crime by serving personnel is investigated independently from their chain of command,” the MoD affirmed.
This latest allegation involving a soldier from the British base in Kenya follows a prominent prior case: accusations that a soldier stationed in Kenya was involved in the murder of a local woman in 2012.
The victim, Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother of one, was found deceased in a septic tank near the Batuk base three weeks after her disappearance, purportedly after spending an evening with British soldiers.
In 2021, The Sunday Times reported that a British soldier was believed to be responsible for her murder. The MoD has since stated its cooperation with a Kenyan investigation into that incident.
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The Batuk base, established in 1964 shortly after Kenya gained independence from the United Kingdom, operates under an agreement allowing the UK military to deploy up to six army battalions annually for training periods at the site.
However, the British army has faced a series of allegations concerning the conduct of some UK personnel stationed at the camp.
Last year, a public inquiry initiated by Kenyan Members of Parliament heard detailed accounts of alleged mistreatment of local residents by British soldiers.
These allegations included a reported hit-and-run incident and claims that some British soldiers had impregnated local women before abandoning them and their children upon their return to the UK.
