Latest news with #DefenceSeriousCrimeUnit
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
British ‘service person' arrested on suspicion of ‘raping' woman near army training camp in Kenya
A BRITISH "service person" has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman near an army training camp in Kenya. The alleged rape happened last month, with the man arrested after a group of soldiers visited a bar in the area near the town of Nanyuki, BBC reports. 2 2 Military cops have questioned the bar owner and security guards who were working the night of the incident that occurred close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk), The Sunday Times reports. According to the paper, the bar owner said: "They [soldiers] like this place and when I meet some of them in the supermarkets, they tell me they have been banned from coming here. "Sometimes they get too drunk and I drop them at the gate for free." An investigation is being carried out by the UK military police from the Defence Serious Crime Unit. The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed in a statement that a "service person" had been arrested in Kenya. A MoD spokesperson said in a statement: "We can confirm the arrest of a Service person in Kenya. "As the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command, we will not comment further." A UK-Kenya defence cooperation agreement allows thousands of Brit soldiers to train in the East African country every year. About 200 UK troops are based there permanently to train Kenyan soldiers. Some Kenyan people have complained for a long time about the soldiers behaviour alongside the atmosphere around their training camp near the town of Nanyuki. There was an outcry over the 2012 death of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, who was last seen alive leaving a bar with British troops near their training camp. Her body was tragically later found in a septic tank. Wanjirus family has campaigned for years for the suspected perpetrator, a serving British soldier at the time, to be charged. In April, UK Defense Secretary John Healey met with Wanjirus grieving family in Kenya and vowed to help the family secure the justice they deserve. The British Army has launched an inquiry into allegations of unacceptable behavior by UK personnel in Kenya. The MoD said in a statement that all British personnel in the country "have clear direction about how to behave, on and off duty, must complete mandatory training and attend compulsory briefings on conduct." It added: "We will have zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviour."
BBC News
18 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
British army in Kenya: Soldier detained over rape allegation
A UK soldier has been accused of raping a woman near a British army training camp in Kenya where another soldier has previously been accused of alleged rape happened last month close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) near the town of Nanyuki, 200km (125 miles) north of the capital, man was arrested and questioned following the alleged incident after a group of soldiers visited a bar in the investigation is being carried out by UK military police from the Defence Serious Crime Unit which looks into crimes allegedly committed by British service personnel in the UK and overseas. The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed in a statement that a "service person" had been detained in Kenya."Unacceptable and criminal behaviour 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 MoD alleged rape involving a soldier from the British base in Kenya follows previous allegations that a soldier stationed in Kenya was involved in the murder of a local woman in body of Agnes Wanjiru, who was 21 and a mother of one, was found in a septic tank near the Batuk base three weeks after she disappeared, allegedly after spending the evening with British Sunday Times reported in 2021 that a British soldier was believed to have been responsible for her MoD has since said it is cooperating with a Kenyan investigation into the Batuk base was established in 1964 shortly after the East African nation gained independence from the UK military has an agreement with Kenya under which it can deploy up to six army battalions a year for periods of training at the the British army has faced a string of allegations about the conduct of some UK personnel at the camp.A public inquiry set up by Kenyan MPs last year heard details of alleged mistreatment of local people by British allegations including a reported hit-and-run incident, and claims that some British soldiers had got local women pregnant before abandoning them and their children when they returned to the UK. You may also be interested in: Agnes Wanjiru murder: Kenya family's anger over UK army 'cover-up'Kenyans sue the British army over fire at wildlife sanctuary Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
