The Kenyan Parliament has launched four public hearings into alleged human rights violations committed by UK troops stationed in the country, with the first two hearings taking place in Laikipia County on Tuesday. The next hearing took place Wednesday morning in Samburu County, and the last will occur on Thursday morning in Laikipia. This follows the high-profile murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old mother found in a septic tank in Nanyuki in 2012. The Sunday Times reported in October 2021 that a British troop confessed to this murder. Despite the confession, the case is not expected to be heard until July 10, 2024, due to a series of delays.

This case has been largely delayed due to jurisdiction issues; it is not entirely clear whether the British troops should be subjected to the law in the UK or Kenya. There are conflicting reports on the UK’s approach to this. The British High Commissioner visited Wanjiru’s family on Thursday to “listen to the family and offer his condolences,” alongside reiterating the UK’s commitment to cooperating fully with the Kenyan investigation into Wanjiru’s death. This new set of hearings, investigating alleged ethical breaches (“corruption, fraud, discrimination, abuses of power, and other unethical behaviour”); human rights violations (“mistreatment, torture, unlawful detention, killings or any other violations of the internationally recognised human rights standards”); and assessing the British Army Training Unit in Kenya’s integrity (“especially safety protocol, compliance with legal requirements and adherence to established military standards”), circumvent this jurisdictional issue.

This owes to Article 118(1)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya which provides that: “Parliament shall– facilitate public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees,” and Article 95, which mandates the National Assembly to represent the people regarding national defence and the use of national defence services.

Kenya has been independent of Britain since 1963, but the two remain close, and the British Army Training Unit Kenya (‘BATUK’) is permanently camped in Nanyuki, 200 km north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.