The British Army in Kenya

[ArabellaSaurus]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7dx324z4po

A disturbing story about a woman murdered thirteen years ago, whose family are still seeking a trial for the soldier said to have confessed.

What also shocked me was that it was 2022 before the Army made using prostitutes illegal.

'In 2024, the army announced it was launching an internal review into the conduct of British soldiers in Kenya, including in Nanyuki.
It found 35 suspected cases of soldiers having engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse, including transactional sex, with local women - nine of these being after the army officially banned such conduct in 2022.'

The Sunday Times has been running a series of investigative articles on this
it’s been a very sad eye opener

I've just started reading about it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czjmveemj7zo.amp

'The report follows years of controversy about the conduct of soldiers at Batuk sparked by an investigation by the Sunday Times in 2021 which revealed the alleged involvement of a British soldier in the murder of Ms Wanjiru, a mother of one '

The banning in 2022 is literally because of social and political pressure. Sadly, as with most men heavy "industries" respect for females is not in the agenda. A friend's daughter left the forces after having her legs tied together and hung from the ceiling, male soldiers coming up behind her while she was sitting and putting their willies on her shoulder and a lot more besides.
I've read about the family of this poor lovely woman before. Having a dad who's a nuclear veteran and knowing how they still don't have proper acknowledgement, it doesn't surprise me one bit about the treatment and killing of her being covered up by the MOD. If they release detail it'll expose the cesspit it sadly is.

It’s an awful story but I’m so pleased every time it surfaces in the press because I realise it is not going away and hopefully justice will eventually prevail. The press have reported who the accused is. Respect to Ms Wanjiru’s family and the campaigners and lawyers who will not let the matter rest.

Thank you Arabella for posting this.

Its another one of those British establishment failures (ie them covering up to save their reputation) that has been going on for years.

All respect is due to those who have not let the British Army continue to try and help their soldiers evade justice.

It was first reported by Sky news back in 2012.

https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/blogs/could-a-british-soldier-be-extradited-to-kenya-to-stand-trial-for-agnes-wanjirus-murder/

Surprised the sexual violence and exploitation by British men hasn't attracted more responses. This is about our sons', fathers' and husbands'.

Utterly unsurprising any institution that I male dominated shows the same behaviours.

The hard thing is how to change it.

All this time I've been raging about Oxfam's behaviour in Haiti (and inadequate response to accusations) and I had no idea the Army was up to it too. Although, like others, I'm not especially surprised.

Another example of why there should be no sacred castes. No group or institution so well respected that its members be above suspicion. Why the conversation for me is primarily about men and male violence regardless of occupation, race, religion, or special identity. The objectification of women that is necessary for action like this to be so routine is cross cultural.

I know.

I think the first step is to be able to name it. Name male violence against women and girls every single time. Stop the media headlines which imply this violence just happens to women the same way one may trip over a fallen branch when going for a walk.

I wish every single incidence was reported. I wish women felt able to join together and be enraged at the world they're forced to live in.

But when even naming the violence and joining together with other women is made difficult, fuck knows how we stop men from perpetuating the violence.

Thank you, Arabella. The cruelty of men towards women shocks me over and over again. Shame on the Army for taking so long to ban using women in this way in Kenya . I hope Agnes' family can find some justice for her horrific murder.

And there will always be male dominated places because women simply can't do everything. We are thinly stretched. The only way would be to ingrain some kind of decency in men in the first place. A strong culture that respects both sexes.

Thanks for this thread - we need to be bumping this and raising awareness regularly. It's a grim reminder of 'what goes on tour, stays on tour' kind of thinking that permeates a lot of British institutions.

Does anyone know if Rory and Alistair/other podcast bros have got stuck into this?

Related

Ex-British soldiers among those who fathered Kenyan children while at Army base, court rules

A number of men who were stationed at or connected with a British Army base in Kenya have been declared the fathers of Kenyan children by the High Court.

The children, aged from two to their mid-50s, were born near BATUK (British Army Training Unit Kenya) where the only non-black people are British Army personnel and civilians who work there.

Lawyers for 11 children had asked the court to order information be given to the government to help identify their fathers.

Ten of the men were located and seven accepted they were father to one of the children.

Full article https://news.sky.com/story/ex-british-soldiers-among-those-who-fathered-kenyan-children-while-at-army-base-court-rules-13450980

Indeed.
The man accused has of course been named, and a newspaper tracked him down.
He's now a tradie, wouldn't do a double take in the street. It makes me shudder to think of the homes he's entered, the women he's spoken to, and what he's been accused of.

I had no idea about this. Horrifying and disgusting. 😱

Good on The Times for investigating the issue and bringing it to the surface. Unbelievable that the army only banned soldiers from using prostitutes in 2022!!!

Poor Agnes Wanjiru and her family. 😟

This is a follow up to this story.

Paternity has so far been legally confirmed in 12 of the cases by the UK's highest Family Court judge, a BBC World Service investigation can reveal.

The process provides answers for children who did not know where, or even in some cases who their fathers were - or who had been led to believe they had died. All have been seeking answers about their heritage, and have faced financial hardship. Most of the 12 confirmed cases are now eligible to register for British citizenship. Those under 18 or in further education will be eligible for child support.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c895k3537kgo

And there is a podcast
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct9b20

I think this is the same pod cast but with an article as well
https://podcastingtoday.co.uk/bbc-podcast-reveals-decades-of-children-fathered-by-soldiers/

Just weeks after Agnes was murdered this happened. It goes to prove that the UK is as corrupt as other countries when it comes to upholding laws and dispensing justice.

https://www.declassifieduk.org/no-prosecution-of-british-soldier-who-shot-kenyan-in-back/

No action was taken against British soldiers who committed war crimes in Northern Ireland either, e.g the Ballymurphy Massacres in 1971, in which 11 unarmed civilians were killed.
Amongst the dead were a priest who had gone to tend to an injured person, while carrying a white cloth, was shot in the back; a teenager who crawled out to assist the priest was shot in the head.
A woman, a mother of eight, who crawled out to assist another injured teenager was shot, and left to die slowly while calling out for help.

The Parachute Regiment carried out these killings, and the same regiment - possibly even the same soldiers - went on to murder again on Bloody Sunday the next year.

The only member of the British Army responsible charged with murder for killing 13 unarmed civilians on Bloody Sunday in 1972 , 'Solider F' was acquitted last year. He claimed he had 'no reliable recollection' of what he did that day.

If you maintain a lie for long enough, you can get away with murder.

Before that, Lee Clegg, the only other British solider to be held to account for killing unarmed civilians, was lionised by sections of the British press (as was 'Soldier F'), his conviction was overturned and he quickly returned to continue his army career.

My late mother was a Catholic born in Coleraine, so I know a fair bit about that horrendous day.