<<Print>>

A landmark public inquiry into allegations of human rights violations by British troops in Kenya has been hearing "heartbreaking" testimony from those who say they were mistreated.

Dozens of people have this week given evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into the alleged misconduct of soldiers from the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk).

Among them are the family of a young woman allegedly disabled in a hit-and-run by a British Army truck, a mother who says she was abandoned when pregnant and a man who was mauled by a lion in the wake of fires allegedly started on an army training exercise.

The Batuk base in Nanyuki, about 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, and was established in 1964 shortly after the East African nation gained independence from the UK.

Kenya’s Defence Minister Aden Duale has said that Kenya will seek prosecutions for any British soldier alleged to have broken the law during deployments over the decades.

The UK High Commission in Kenya told the BBC it was aware of the proceedings and that it - and Batuk - intended to co-operate with the inquiry.

Hundreds of people have this week flocked to the four public hearings held near the Batuk base to listen to emotional accounts of alleged misconduct by British soldiers.

Memusi Lochede testified that British officials promised to look after her 22-year-old daughter Chaula Memusi, who is in a wheelchair after allegedly being injured by a British army truck in a hit-and-run incident in January 2019.

“They sent a representative to tell me that they don’t want a court case and that they would take care of my daughter,” the 45-year-old mother told one of the hearings held outdoors under a marquee in Archers Post, where the British army conducts infantry exercises.

Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya.

Ms Lochede said they paid for her daughter’s hospital bills for two years, but had failed to pay compensation as promised.

Lino Lemaramba told the BBC he witnessed the accident and was shocked to see the British army truck drive away after the collision. He stopped to help Ms Memusi.

“It was a Batuk truck, I tried to stop it but it kept moving,” he alleged.

“It was a tragic scene, blood all over, her bones were crushed… people were afraid to touch her,” he said, describing how difficult it was to lift her into his pick-up and take her to the hospital.