CS Duale Has Vowed To Charge British Soldiers For Criminal Conduct In The Country
Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has now stated that Kenya has secured the legal authority to charge and punish any British Army officers stationed within its borders who conduct criminal crimes.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s JKLive Show on Wednesday, Duale stated that Parliament supported and ratified the idea of granting Kenya the authority to punish visiting British troops for crimes under Kenyan law.
Duale’s statement was spurred by a query from show presenter Jeff Koinange, who brought up the unresolved case of Agnes Wanjiru, who was allegedly murdered by a British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) commander in Nanyuki over ten years ago.
Wanjiru’s body was discovered in a septic tank at a motel on the outskirts of Nanyuki, but the prime suspect in the heinous murder has yet to be held accountable.
“Every defence cooperation agreement we will sign with any of our partners, be it the British Army or the British Defence Ministry will have that clause inserted. Parliament has approved that all criminal jurisdiction and criminal acts committed on our soil will be dealt with by the host country,” he said.
Regarding crimes committed prior to the resolution, Duale stated that the National Assembly Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations is now preparing a report on the subject, following which the House will engage the British Defence Ministry based on the suggestions provided.
“The Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations is doing public participation and once they do that report and they bring it to Parliament, the House will make a resolution,” he said.
“The Ministry of Defence will then have the opportunity to engage the British government through the Foreign Affairs and UK Defence ministries.”
Duale also justified the presence of BATUK officers, stating that they are legally in the nation and that the connection is mutually beneficial because Kenyan military forces train and learn new fighting techniques from British soldiers.
“BATUK are in Kenya legally. Our Constitution 2010 provides that such kinds of arrangements must be passed by Parliament,” he stated.
“There are a lot of benefits we accrue from them, from training to joint operations. They are here because it is part of their training to train in an environment like Kenya.”
“They play a very big role in the local community in Nanyuki and it is not only in Kenya. If you go to Djibouti, there are over a million foreign soldiers in various bases. We learn a lot in terms of tech transfer, their weapons, medievac and military technology; we learn from them and they learn from us.”
CS Duale Has Vowed To Charge British Soldiers For Criminal Conduct In The Country