Several women and their mixed-race children in Kenya claim they were raped and abandoned by British soldiers trained for the army.
The number of children born near the remote villages of the British Army Training Unit, Kenya (BATUK), is growing. Headquartered in the town of Nanyuki — approximately 70 miles from Archer’s Post — BATUK is being investigated by the Defense, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee of Kenya’s National Assembly. During public hearings, accusations of abuse, exploitation, and sexual assaults from the communities around them were revealed.
One of the critical accusations came from the case of Agnes Wanjiru — a 21-year-old woman who vanished in 2012 after she entered a hotel with British soldiers. Her body was found in a septic tank, and regardless of her death being ruled a homicide, the soldier identified by comrades has yet to face charges.
Wanjiru’s family wants justice and for the Kenyan king to assist as they believe British officials are indifferent to her case. However, a spokesperson for the British High Commission said all allegations of this magnitude are taken seriously. “All sexual activity which involves the abuse of power, including buying sex whether in the UK or abroad, is prohibited,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“We are committed to preventing sexual exploitation in any form and investigate and hold to account any Service Personnel found to be involved in it.”
Mixed-race children, often born with light skin, face
ostracization in Kenya. Typically rare, many are discriminated against and face scrutiny. “They call me ‘mzungu maskini,’ or a poor white girl,” Marian Pannalossy, 17, said. “They always say, ‘Why are you here? Just look for connections so that you can go to your own people. You don’t belong here. You’re not supposed to be here suffering.’”Marian’s mother, Lydia Juma, is one of hundreds of Kenyan women who filed complaints with the UK military over the last 10 years. Juma appeared in a documentary from 2011 called “The Rape of the Samburu Women.” Marian, who was four at the time, appeared in the documentary as she listened to her mother recounting the times she was violated and how she suffered.
Juma passed away two years after the documentary aired and never found the man she accused of raping her. Since rape is seen as taboo in the Kenyan community, her live-in-boyfriend at the time left her after she gave birth to Marian. “The moment he saw that the child is ‘white,’ he went, and he went forever,” she said in the film.Marian believes one of the UK soldiers is her father.
The training unit has existed since Kenya gained independence from the UK in 1963. It trains British troops and provides antiterrorism training for the Kenyan forces. BATUK has nearly 100 permanent staff and almost 280 rotating short-term regiments from the UK.
Following the public hearings, lawmakers decided they
would need to collect and evaluate evidence from survivors’ testimonies. They will then work with the British government on re-evaluating measures to address such issues, including through diplomatic channels.Activists like the Africa Center for Corrective and Preventive Action (ACCPA) think the hearings will activate heavy lawsuits against BATUK. “It will shock the world,” ACCPA’s head, John Macharia, said. “There are many other issues that have never been taken to court. But this will let the lawmakers interact with the community and understand those issues.”