British soldier arrested on rape charge in African state
A British soldier has been accused of raping a woman in Kenya and has been returned to the UK amid an investigation, the BBC reported on Monday. The case adds to longstanding controversy over the conduct of British troops stationed in the East African nation.
According to the news agency, the alleged incident happened last month after a group of soldiers visited a bar in Nanyuki, a town located near the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), about 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi.
The suspect was reportedly arrested and interrogated by the UK military.
The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed on Sunday that a 'service person' had been arrested in Kenya, adding that it would not comment further because 'the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Defense Serious Crime Command.'
'Unacceptable and criminal behavior has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces and any reporting of a serious crime by serving personnel is investigated independently from their chain of command,' the ministry said in a statement cited by the BBC.
Allegations of crimes committed by British troops in Kenya, including rape, murder, and environmental pollution, date back decades. However, widespread public outrage was sparked following the 2012 murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old woman who had been missing for several weeks after reportedly spending a night partying with British soldiers. Her mutilated body was found in a hotel septic tank near the BATUK permanent garrison.
A British soldier reportedly confessed to the murder in 2021, but no charges have been brought forward by prosecutors. The BATUK has asked that the Kenyan High Court dismiss the lawsuit filed by Wanjiru's family, arguing that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction over any case involving a UK Army unit in the country.
In April, UK Defense Secretary John Healey visited Nairobi and pledged 'full support to the Kenyan investigatory authorities' after the African country's investigators announced that they had concluded a probe into Wanjiru's death.
Last June, CNN reported that British Army soldiers left behind dozens of children fathered through the alleged sexual abuse of Kenyan women. The outlet claimed that mixed-race children continue to be born in remote villages across central Kenya, where the BATUK is based, as the result of rapes committed by the troops.
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