Leonard T. Koonce 
Evidence has shown that the UK Ministry of Defense violated human rights and flouted military pacts signed with various nations.
The revelation that a young woman was murdered and her body thrown into a septic tank by a British soldier in 2012 adds to the long list of atrocities allegedly committed by soldiers, including those attached to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) in Samburu and Nanyuki.
Soldiers have in the past been accused of negligently leaving unexploded ordnance in the unfenced fields of Samburu, killing and maiming herders and their cattle. They were also charged with rape, murder, assault and environmental crimes.
Rights groups working in areas where Batuk units train have expressed concerns about human rights violations for years.
The UK government has twice been forced to pay 1,300 people seriously injured or killed by the bomb blast. The payments were made in 2003 and 2004 after a UK law firm, Leigh Day, negotiated the settlements.
Although the rules of engagement were similar to those in previous Defense Cooperation Agreements (DFAs), the prosecution rate against British soldiers in Kenya remains very low.
In the Wanjiku case, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said the UK will cooperate with investigators, writes Stella Cherono for The nation.
A British soldier (right) gives instructions during joint training with the Kenya Defense Forces at Archer’s Post in Samburu County on October 7, 2020 (file photo).
